In his work on $#*! My Dad Says, William Shatner is exploring a whole new frontier in a new age of television show production.

Shatner began his career on live television, but how shows were made was very different back then. “I was there when the cameras were as big as this table had internal fans that were whirring because of the heat of the tubes and had to come as close as this for a close up,” he said. “Now we’re talking about green screen and putting us on locations we’ll never visit, unfortunately. We can put us in Paris on this show and never leave the warmth of Warner Bros. It is beyond irony. It is trying to catch the tiger by the tail. The miracle is our inventiveness and the tragedy of our lives is the inventiveness. It’s beyond irony. It’s whatever term you guys can come up with.”

In addition to a different way of making live television, Shatner is appearing on his first sitcom. “You cannot begin to imagine the shock I had when I came down on that floor for the first time,” he said. “First of all, there’s this whole thing about playing sitcom comedy. A lot of people, writers, directors and actors, have got into a sitcom thing. I didn’t want to do the sitcom thing but I didn’t know what else to do. So I was starting low and slow and not enough of that comedic energy but you don’t want to do too much. I went slowly through the week of rehearsals. Then we got on the floor with the cameras which I’m used to from my live TV days.”

Taping a live show meant discovering the energy of doing so in front of a live crowd. “There’s the cameras and two hundred people wandering around: agents, actors, mothers-in-law, party, eating pizza. We’re doing the circus up here. It was stunning. The fourth wall was totally gone. I’m talking to the audience. We now correct lines, the writers come up with other lines to try and the audience is aware of the process. I’ve got to learn the other line, I’ve got to say it a couple of times, everybody laughs. It was exciting, chaotic, totally stunning. I’ve never experienced that before as an actor. I was part minstrel, part actor.”

$#*! My Dad Says airs this fall on CBS.

Interviewing one of the D.C. snipers responsible for seventeen deaths was something that will remain with William Shatner for a long time.

Shatner interviewed Lee Boyd Malvo, who was seventeen at the time of the shootings, for Aftermath with William Shatner, a show that examines “what happens when people are tragically or infamously transformed from unknown citizens into household names overnight.”

The interview was conducted via telephone from a southwest Virginia prison cell where Malvo is serving a life sentence for his role in the October 2002 murders. “Getting the opportunity to speak with Lee Malvo is a moment I’ll never forget,” said Shatner in an A&E press statement. “He was only seventeen when he committed these horrific acts, a monster forged by the only father figure in his life, and it was simply astonishing that he’s found the maturity and humility to admit so many new crimes in his effort to make amends.”

According to Malvo, three other co-conspirators were to have worked with Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, to “create terror along the entire Eastern Seaboard,” using rifles with silencers. The would-be conspirators backed out however, and Malvo shot two of them on orders from Muhammad. Malvo also told Shatner that one of the men was killed, but by Muhammad. The whereabouts of the third man is unknown.

Muhammad and Malvo had been linked to twenty-seven shootings, resulting in the seventeen deaths, but Malvo claimed that the duo had carried out approximately forty-two shootings.

Muhammad was sentenced to death and was executed in 2009 by lethal injection.

Confessions of the D.C. Sniper with William Shatner: An Aftermath Special, will air on Thursday at 10 P.M. on A&E.

A campaign started by a fan on the Star Trek Online messageboards to have the voice talents of actress Chase Masterson (Leeta) included in Star Trek Online was successful and players can now hear her as “Holo Leeta.”

The campaign began back in March, when the fan, Kirkfat, contacted Masterson and got her permission to try to convince Cryptic. “I’d love to do this,” Masterson said. Kirkfat started a thread on the STO messageboards to gather support.

At first, those involved with Star Trek Online told the fans that while they had no objection to the plan, not to get their hopes up. “They will contact her and see if this might be a possibility. … This doesn’t mean it will happen, in fact there is a very, very good change that it probably won’t. We don’t have huge budgets for VO, soooo there is a good chance that she might be too expensive.”

Later, word came that Star Trek Online was “contact with Chase Masterson and do plan to get some audio recorded for “Holo” Leeta.” In May, Masterston let fans know that she had been contacted by Cryptic regarding her participation in the game.

Finally, last week, fans heard the voice of Masterson as “Holo” Leeta. According to poster Z3R0B4Ng, “I couldn’t believe my ears when I walked into Quarks after the build today…I opened the door and heard a voice saying “DABO”!”

“Kudos to Cryptic,” said Kirkfat. “We love you Chase.”

Masterson is the third Star Trek actor to do voice work for Star Trek Online, following Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto.

Fans of Quantum Leap may again get to see Dr. Sam Beckett leaping through time and into strange bodies and situations.

At Comic-Con last weekend, Bakula told fans that a film may be in the works for the popular show, which aired from 1989-1993.

“It’s a great piece of TV history,” said Bakula. “[Beckett] is what I’m known for, and it’s a great show to be known for.”

A script is supposedly being written by Quantum Leap creator/executive producer Donald Bellisario.

Secret Selves, an exhibition of twenty-six color photos taken by Leonard Nimoy, will open August 1 at the Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts.

Although some of Nimoy’s photography can be seen in various museum collections, this is Nimoy’s first solo show at a major museum.

In an interview with A.V. Club, Nimoy explained how he chose the subjects for Secret Selves. “I came across a story that comes down to us from ancient Greece; supposedly, Aristophanes, the playwright/philosopher, was at one of Sophocles’ symposia and posited a fanciful explanation for human angst, anxiety, and emotional discomfort. He said that at one time, humans were double people, with four arms, four legs, and two heads, attached back-to-back to one another in all the various combinations of male and female. So when man became powerful and arrogant, the gods were angry and sent Zeus to solve the problem, which he did by taking a big sword and splitting everybody in two, sending them on their separate paths. And ever since then, said Aristophanes, humans have been searching for the other, lost part of themselves, to make themselves feel whole again, to reintegrate.

“I was struck by that idea, that many of us have another side to us that we are not in touch with, or that we do not get a chance to explore or present. We present a certain aspect of ourselves, but there are other unexplored, or hidden, or lost parts to ourselves. So with that in mind, I gave that story to my gallerist in Northampton, Massachusetts, a very active and creative guy in the community, and I told him “I want to photograph a lot of people—try to round up a hundred if you can—and ask them to come as their secret selves.”

Nimoy chose one hundred people and each subject was asked “Why do you think you are?” The photographs are a result of each person’s “alternate identity,” which include identities such as Superman, a wizard, a dancer, a violinist and more. Nimoy explained that “They all came with their own story. Each of them had written a brief statement about who they were in their obvious daily lives, and what their hidden or secret fantasy self was all about. They came with their own wardrobe and their own props or whatever.”

Tom Hardy, best-known to Trek fans as Shinzon in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, will be replacing Sam Worthington in This Means War.

Hardy will play one of two spies who wages black-ops warfare on each other when they both fall for the same girl (Reese Witherspoon). The other spy will be played by another Star Trek alum, Chris Pine.

This Means War is expected to be released in 2011.

Chris Hemsworth faces the challenge of being involved with Thor, which like Star Trek has a pre-existing fan base.

As with Star Trek, fans of Thor know what they like and Hemsworth is sensitive to that and is hoping to please the fans as well as help to tell a good story. “It’s a challenge,” said Hemsworth. “You walk into something which has a pre-existing fan base. People are very passionate about it and know what they want to see. As far as how you bring the excitement or challenge, a lot of that, the script comes along. That’s not my department. For me it was reading as much as the comic books and things that inspired me.”

Playing an already established character means doing one’s best without letting the pressure get to one. “There’s a lot of pressure with something that has existed for so many years,” said Hemsworth. “You try not to let it affect the way you approach the film. For me, you do it as well as you can whatever it is, whether it’s a small film or whether it’s something like this here. But yeah, it’s both exciting and daunting.”

Hemsworth is looking beyond the established fans, hoping that Thor draws in new fans. “That’s another challenge,” he said. “You’ve got to look after the fans, but you’ve got to make the film appealing to audiences outside of the fan base too. You can’t think about it too much though. You sort of simplify it and just do the best you can and respectful of what already exists, take it to where you’re trying to go with it.”

Training for the role meant temporarily putting on some weight for Hemsworth. “I had to drink a lot of protein shakes and eat a lot of chicken breast,” he said. “There was an intaking of a lot of calories, a lot of food, a lot of working out and try to get as much rest as you can. That’s the other one-third of the equation. I put on twenty pounds and lost a lot of it since shooting purely from not eating that amount.”

In researching for the part, Hemsworth found his own favorite Thor story. “The stuff with The Avengers I really liked. There’s one particular one where they approach him and Thor’s sitting on a beach in a party or something. There’s fire and people sitting around playing guitar. Thor’s there drinking a beer and up walk out SHIELD and I think Iron Man. They’re like, ‘Supposedly you’re a god and we want you to join our team.’ He’s like, ‘Psh, I’m not joining nothing.’ I think one of them says something like, ‘I don’t believe he’s a god anyway.’ Thor makes big rain and thunder and they scurry away. I enjoyed that moment.”

Thor is due out May of 2011.

Star Trek: Online has released its second season, “Ancient Enemies” with new episodes, rewards and content.

In “Ancient Enemies,” players will “encounter and do battle with even more of Star Trek’s iconic races,” as they enjoy new episodes including eight Klingon episodes.

The Klingon episodes star the Fek’ihri, who are the “fabled enemy of Kahless, Klingon Empire founder.” The Fek’ihri are after Qo’noS and Klingon warriors will need to protect their home planet.

In the Federation Diplomatic Corps, for those who would rather engage in diplomacy than wield weapons, new First Contact missions will allow players to meet and interact with brand new civilizations, earning special ranks and rewards within the Corps.

The Undine are back in Season Two, and players will venture into their territory, Fluidic space, to learn more about them, in five new episodes, a Fleet Action and all new Deep Space Encounters.

Two new mini-games make their debut in Season Two: Dabo, where players can earn gold-pressed latinum with which they can buy special rewards; and Anomaly Scan, where players learn how to find more anomalies than normal, improving their yields in Star Trek: Online.

Each week, a new Feature Episode will be released, starting in August. In these episodes, players will be introduced to a new “neutral mission giving race,” the Deferi.

John de Lancie, who portrayed “Q” in Star Trek: The Next Generation through Star Trek: Voyager, talked about his role as the omnipotent troublemaker.

Although Q was a troublemaker and a nuisance for several Trek captains, de Lancie did not consider him a villain. “Q was never a villain as far as I was concerned … I might have been arrogant and badly flawed and all that, but I never thought of the character as a villain.”

De Lancie was satisfied with his role, but would have liked to have been on more Star Trek episodes, provided that the issues discussed were important and not trivial. “I would have liked to have been on the different Star Treks more than I was, as long as the episodes were about big issues,” he said. “When I was on it with little issues – like Q and Vash – I just don’t think those episodes worked as well. I know some fans appreciate them, but episodes about reclaiming your life, suicide, do you deserve to be out here … those were the ones about the most interesting issues, so those are the ones that had the best scenes and that I think of as the best episodes. So if they’d continued in that vein I would have liked to have been more involved.”

What was Q’s best scene in all of the episodes in which he appeared? “… I can tell you that I think a lot of what came out of All Good Things… really clicked. I remember being particularly pleased with many of the scenes in the finale.”

Would de Lancie appear in a new Star Trek movie if asked? “I’d be very interested,” he said. “The only problem is that I, too, am suffering from this mortal thing called aging and there’s a point at which it might not make sense. What might make sense is that you hear my voice, but I just don’t know that it would make sense to have an aging Q. I would have a problem with that as a viewer, and I don’t think I’d be the only one.”

Fringe Producer Jeff Pinkner told a Comic-Con audience that he would like to see Leonard Nimoy return as William Bell.

Nimoy’s character was killed off in the second season finale, but that would not be a problem as far as Pinkner is concerned. “Should we be able to convince him to come out of retirement again, we have another story in mind [for Bell].

Pinkner praised Nimoy. “He really was so unbelievably gracious,” said Pinkner. He was initially nervous that we just wanted him for promotional value, but we really wanted to give him a swansong role.”

Could Nimoy, who announced his retirement this year, return as Bell? “This is science fiction,” said Nimoy. “I have died in science fiction many times and somehow magically or scientifically come back.”

Although he seems to be doing quite well as an actor, Chris Pine was more interested in sports when he was younger.

Some actors know from childhood that they want to act, but for Pine, he didn’t discover acting until he went to college and got involved in theater. “It satisfied everything I enjoyed about using your mind and being in front of people and the charge of that,” he said.

A lack of talent in sports helped make the decision easy for Pine as he got older. “I played basketball and baseball,” he said. “I was no good by any stretch.” As for acting, “It was just a good fit for me. Ironically enough, I had been around it all my life.”

Pine is currently back on the stage, playing an Irish terrorist in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, where he is on a quest to save his cat. According to Pine, working in the play is “like being a rock star. It’s two hours; it’s quick; it’s fast.”

The Lieutenant of Inishmore is currently running at the Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles from now through August 8.

Chris Hemsworth, best-known to Star Trek fans for his role as the doomed father of James T. Kirk, can thank his brother, Liam Hemsworth, for helping him land the role of Thor.

The help came as a result of a failed audition for Liam Hemsworth, who was also auditioning for Thor.

“I have enough trouble getting myself a part let alone my brother, but we both auditioned for it funny enough,” explained Hemsworth. “I had an audition, didn’t hear anything, then he was in Australia and sent a tape across. The next minute I heard they were flying him over to meet Ken[neth Branagh] and he was down to the last four guys, and I was like, ‘What?’ He went in, did a great job and it didn’t end up happening.”

Liam gave tips to brother Chris and Chris ultimately got the role. “Then I got another phone call, and was like, ‘S–t, what worked, what didn’t?’” said Hemsworth. “‘Tell me what he said.’ I got some advice and here we are.”

Hemsworth credited his family relationships with helping him to play certain roles. “Anything to do with brothers and fathers, I have a great relationship with my brothers and father and stuff to draw from. That stuff always lights a fire in me. Even when I see it on screen, it affects me.”

Thor will release next summer.

Fans of Khan will have a Khan plush doll to look forward to in addition to the new Khan comic series this fall.

Star Trek: Khan: Ruling In Hell #1, the first of a series of four comic book stories featuring Khan, will debut in October, and in addition to the comic, a Khan plush doll will be released at the same time as the first comic.

Update: TrekMovie.com has just posted an article with a photo of the design for the Khan plushie.

Chris Pine is hoping for a little more character development in the next Star Trek movie, including romance.

In a recent interview, Pine spoke about the sequel, and admitted that he didn’t know when shooting would begin. “I don’t know,” he said, when asked. “I haven’t heard. I’m always the last person to find out. It’s sometime next year I know. I don’t know if it’s January.”

But one thing Pine did know was what he wanted for Captain Kirk in the next movie. And look out, Spock, he’s after your woman! “I want at least one shot at Ms. Saldana,” he said. “I mean please, please God have mercy. Maybe her in her little Avatar outfit.”

Pine also would like fans to see the funny side of Kirk. “Kirk’s got a great sense of humor and I would love to see that explored more,” he said.

Star Trek XII will open June 29, 2012.

When his shuttle crashes, Picard is cared for by a woman who falls obsessively in love with him.

Plot Summary: The Enterprise plays host to two Iyaaran ambassadors while Picard goes to visit their planet’s leaders. Picard asks Troi to act as liaison to Loquel, who is immediately smitten with the food aboard the ship, while Byleth requests Worf as his escort, a role Riker gladly cedes when he sees how belligerent Byleth can be. Picard boards a shuttle with a pilot named Voval, who is injured when the shuttle encounters unexpected turbulence and crashes before reaching the Iyaaran homeworld. Unable to reach the Enterprise because of plasma storms, Picard leaves the shuttle and is struck by lightning. He wakes aboard a damaged freighter, where a woman named Anna tells him that Voval has died and Picard has several broken ribs. She is the sole survivor of a cargo freighter crash and has been alone for seven years. With his movement restricted by the stasis field binding his ribs, Picard asks Anna to retrieve the shuttlecraft’s communication equipment, but she damages it when she uses a phaser to cut it free. When Picard says that it can’t be repaired, she becomes upset, and when he tries to comfort her, she kisses him and declares that she loves him. Meanwhile Troi is tiring of Loquel’s gluttony and Worf becomes irate with Byleth, who insults Worf’s intelligence in front of LaForge and steals his poker chips during a game. When Byleth denies cheating, Worf attacks him, but rather than being angry, Byleth is pleased by the experience. Back on the planet, Picard removes the statis device, realizes that his ribs were never broken, and accuses Anna of keeping him captive. She becomes hysterical and runs outside, threatening suicide. When he follows, Picard encounters Voval, who explains that his species can slow their metabolism when injured, which must be why she thought he was dead. The two separate to look for Anna, whom Picard finds ready to jump off a cliff if Picard will not swear that he loves her. Picard can’t find Voval and sees so many inconsistencies in Anna’s story that he tells her to go ahead and jump if that’s really what she wants. Instead she transforms into Voval, who introduces himself as another Iyaaran ambassador. He was assigned to study love, which Iyaarans do not experience, while Loquel was supposed to study pleasure and Byleth antagonism. The Enterprise crewmembers put aside their initial displeasure to strengthen their communication with the Iyaarans.

Analysis: I’m sure I’ve seen “Liaisons” before, because I watched every Next Gen episode when the series first aired and most of them several times in syndication, yet I had no memory of “Liaisons” at all when I started watching for this review, and put it down to the fact that it aired the week my older son was born so I was very distracted when I first saw it. In fact, I now believe that I must have blocked it out. Surely there are worse episodes of Star Trek than this one, but I really have to concentrate to think of which they might be. Suddenly “Where Silence Has Lease” doesn’t seem so horrific nor “Devil’s Due” so sexist. I suppose it isn’t quite as bad as the other epic alien sexual harassment storyline, “Man of the People,” but it’s a near thing. I’m trying to think of some saving grace, something we learn about a character or Starfleet or science or human nature, but the characters are all sleepwalking through their expected parts, Starfleet hasn’t been intelligent enough to do a background study or send a first contact specialist along on this mission, there are no scientific explanation of anything from the Iyaarans’ unusual reproduction to the plasma storms on the planet, and “human nature” here may best be summed up as embarrassing cliches…not even human in all cases, for although the Iyaarans first became aware of humans from the diaries of the real Anna – who indeed crashed and fell in love with a fellow castaway – pleasure as Loquel experiences it is limited to a half-Betazed’s favorite vice, chocolate, while Byleth’s study of aggression centers on someone who’s not human at all. I’m not sure who should be more embarrassed by the stereotypes to which they are reduced, women or Klingons.

In fairness, Worf at least gets some “I am not a merry man” moments that are very funny. The episode starts with Riker arriving to nag Worf to hurry up to the welcome party, saying Worf should be glad that at least he doesn’t have to escort any Iyaarans around for the next three days. It’s not like Riker to complain about duty, particularly while he’s scolding another officer for being a slacker, but Riker is so out of character all episode that this seems a small oddity. Anyway, Worf then complains that the formal uniforms look like dresses, to which Riker barks a retort that that’s an outmoded and sexist attitude and besides, Worf looks good in a dress. If only the rest of the episode were so concerned about outmoded and sexist attitudes! Troi finds herself in essence babysitting a big kid who wants sweets and the company of other children – apparently he’s too unsophisticated for pleasures like sex, drugs, and rock & roll, even though on his planet people emerge full grown from natal hubs. He plays poker willingly enough, but it seems that pleasures like mental games, scientific challenges, and athletic prowess are unknown on his planet, too. Funnily enough, no one thinks to mention to the Enterprise crew that they’re, oh, shapeshifters. It doesn’t occur to the Enterprise crew to accuse them of bad faith when they find out, either, though Picard casually mentions that on his planet, Voval’s behavior would be considered a crime.

All the actors except Michael Dorn look embarrassed to be there, and I can’t blame them – at least Worf gets to punch someone, and I can’t blame him, either. I could blame Riker for not putting him on report, but Riker seems content to sit and watch the fight with only an occasional shout of protest instead of immediately calling security, so maybe we should assume that the entire crew agreed to pretend this entire incident never happened. It’s funny while Worf is complaining, which he does nonstop from the first scene, announcing that Klingons don’t procrastinate, telling Data that Byleth is demanding and rude, threatening to rip out Byleth’s esophagus with his bare hands, roaring that if Byleth were not an ambassador then Worf would disembowel him – but it stops being funny when Worf loses it and goes on the attack, even though the scene is played for laughs. It’s one thing when Worf attacks a fellow Klingon or someone from a species where such a defense of honor has been clearly established, but to lunge physically at a visiting diplomat seems to me the sort of thing that could get one kicked out of Starfleet. Yet his fellow crewmembers mostly gape while Worf and Byleth do some serious punching and throwing, and Riker squeaks a protest only when it is over, while Loquel for his part hardly looks away from his dessert.

Still, this is easier to take than the Picard storyline, which we’re expected to believe was constructed based on the Iyaaran reading of a human woman’s diary. I can’t help wondering whether it was actually a copy of Stephen King’s Misery that they mistook for a personal journal, since the plots are so similar. Here a needy, clingy woman encounters the first human she’s seen in more than half a decade, and instead of worrying about sufficient food, better shelter, a means of escape, all she wants to do is beg him to love her, then threaten to kill herself when he doesn’t instantly agree. Given her age when Picard meets her, she must have been an adult when she landed on the planet, and even the loneliest adults with the slenderest grip on reality know that you can’t force someone to fall in love by means of coercion and threats. Which means the Iyaarans’ previous understanding of human behavior came from one who was insane, though I don’t think the show’s writers think that, since it isn’t discussed – I think they consider Anna’s behavior within the norm for lovelorn females. Picard goes from being mildly sympathetic to moderately alarmed to telling her to go ahead and kill herself, which, while amusing in the same perverse way as Worf attacking an ambassador, doesn’t sound like anything Picard would ever say no matter how irritated he was at being manipulated. His dealings with Anna go from boring to stupid to icky. How charming that he finds it a relief to discover he kissed a manipulative man instead of a crazy woman.

Although William Shatner was Justin Halpern’s first choice to play his sharp-tongued and profane father on $#*! My Dad Says, father Sam Halpern had another actor in mind.

$#*! My Dad Says will air September 23, and had Halpern senior had his way, he would have been played by someone associated with another famous sci-fi franchise.

Halpern wanted to have his character played by James Earl Jones, best-known to fans as the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movies. Jones’ “voice is the greatest in the world,” said Halpern.

But according to son Justin, his father had a voice more like “Foghorn Leghorn.”

Justin was pleased with Shatner’s portrayal of his father, as seen during the taping of the pilot. Shatner hit the role “out of the park,” said Halpern. “He’s such a unique kind of actor, you never know what you’re going to get with him. He brought a really interesting take on it.”

His father was OK with Shatner after seeing the taping. “He was way into it,” said Sam Halpern.

Justin did have another actor in mind for the role, had Shatner turned it down. “My second choice was Deadwood star Ian McShane,” he said. “But he might have scared the crap out of middle-America though.”

Fans of Star Trek XI’s J.J. Abrams and Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Josh Whedon got to hear about the duo’s recent projects, and their thoughts on the current 3-D craze.

Although Abrams didn’t touch upon Star Trek XII, he did talk about Super 8 and the finale of Lost. Abrams explained that the inspiration for Super 8 came from working on restoring earlier works of Steven Spielberg, which led to Abrams calling Spielberg with a story pitch.

Super 8 will begin filming in September. “The movie is very much in the spirit of some of the Amblin films [Spielberg] made years ago” said Abrams.

Working with Spielberg means harking back to that past, according to Abrams. “It’s impossible to work with him and not constantly reference the work he’s done,” Abrams said.

Super 8 won’t be filmed in 3-D, but Abrams and Whedon have opinions on the trend towards making movies in 3-D. “Honestly, I totally love it,” said Whedon. Abrams wasn’t so keen on the current trend. “The thing that drives me crazy about 3-D is that when you put on the glasses, everything seems dim,” said Abrams. “I’m not totally on board yet.”

Whedon confirmed that he is officially directing The Avengers, based on a comic book. “It’s not an official thing, I think because Marvel couldn’t afford a press release,” said Whedon, “so can we make that an official thing? I’m directing The Avengers.”

In addition, Whedon admitted to being a fan of Star Trek XI.  “I’ve had actual moments of sheer f–ing panic because I loved Star Trek so much,” he explained. “I just keep watching it and going, ‘This is the gold standard for a team movie, for a summer movie, for any movie that has come out in the last several years.’ And it makes me throw up with fear, so I have to stop watching it.”

Finally, Abrams spoke about Lost and the finale for the popular show. “What Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse did was an amazing thing,” he said. “When we first started and Damon and I wrote this bible of what it would be, we were optimistic. A lot of things ended up in the series but most of them did not.  Carlton Cuse came onboard and they all started making it what it became. There were ideas we thought were cool but we knew we had to be flexible.  You could not anticipate Michael Emerson coming on board, which was supposed to be for a couple of episodes.  They had to be entirely flexible and listen to the show.  I personally believe that Damon and Carlton kicked ass and wrote an amazingly emotional episode for the finale.”

As Comic-Con continues, Star Trek actors speak up about the sequel due out in 2012, with Karl Urban being the latest to offer his thoughts on progress of the film.

Urban, who is in negotiations for the role of Judge Dredd in the movie of the same name after being offered the part by director Pete Travis, spoke about his various projects, either confirming or denying his involvement with several movies.

Shooting for Star Trek XII will “most likely happen mid next year,” said Urban. “May or June next year.” This contrasts with what Bruce Greenwood said recently about filming beginning in January.

Urban believes that J.J. Abrams will direct Star Trek XII, but doesn’t know that for certain, although he is hopeful. “I haven’t heard anything,” he said. “I certainly hope so. Knowing J.J. I think he will have a pretty tough time handing this baby off to someone off. He was such an instrumental force of nature in delivering that film and creating those characters and ensuring that the Star Trek that was released was not some vacuous special effects extravaganza and that it was a character driven film. My hopes are that he will come back to the director’s chair.”

Regarding Judge Dredd, Urban was offered the role after a meeting with Pete Travis and Andrew McDonald. “We’ve had a really wonderful meeting of the minds and long story short, they have offered me the role and we’re in the process of making that happen,” he said.

Urban debunked rumors that he was involved in the next Final Destination movie, Relentless and Hired Guns.

Not all of the information is coming out at panels and official interviews at Comic-Con, in some cases, news is being gleaned during informal meetings or at Comic-Con parties.

Roberto Orci answered questions about various topics, including Star Trek XII, at one of those Comic-Con parties last night.

Orci spoke briefly about Star Trek XII, speaking first about progress on the story. “We have a story that we like and we just gotta get cranking it out,” he said. Previously, Orci and [Alex] Kurtzman had said that a story was halfway done, and that they were “seeing if it really sticks,” and “going to go pick at it and pull at it” to see if it “stays standing.”

Regarding the debate over whether to have Khan in the story or not, Orci encouraged those online to weigh in with their opinions on the matter.  “We’ll see what happens,” he said. “Log in, vote, speak up, we’ll listen.”

For some Star Trek actors, the directors chair was the next logical career move; with some actors only directing Star Trek episodes, while others branched out to other shows and movies.

In a new article at Geek Speak Magazine, the directing careers of Star Trek alumni are explored. Each actor began his or her directing career by directing Star Trek episodes.

Some of the actors only directed Trek episodes. These directors include Patrick Stewart, Gates McFadden, Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig and Robert Picardo.

Both Brooks and Auberjonois directed nine episodes each, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Rejoined, known for the kiss between Jadzia Dax and Lenara Kahn, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Ferengi Love Songs.

Other actors went beyond Star Trek. LeVar Burton, who began his directing career with The Next Generation: Second Chances, went on to direct for other Trek series as well, including nine Deep Space Nine episodes, eight Voyager episodes and nine Enterprise episodes. Burton then directed two episodes of Showtime’s Soul Food, episodes of JAG and Charmed, and several movies, including The Tiger Woods Story.

Roxann Biggs-Dawson started her directorial career with Star Trek: Voyager: Riddles and Workforce Part 2. She went on to direct ten episodes of Enterprise. After Star Trek, Biggs-Dawson directed Crossing Jordan, Close to Home and Cold Case, plus more.

Robert Duncan McNeill started out directing Voyager’s Sacred Ground, and his non-Trek work includes shows such as Everwood, One Tree Hill, The O.C., Summerland and Dawson’s Creek. McNeill also directed an episode of the new V: Red Sky, and thirteen episodes of Chuck.