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Hailing Frequencies Stardate 0115.01

Due to the mid-season Television Critics Association press junket held last week in California, Trek news and rumors have been flying fast and furious. UPN struggled for survival, Voyager hyped its finale, past and present Trekkers received award nominations. Next week we return you to your regularly scheduled Voyager reviews. Thanks to StarTrek.com, TrekWeb, TrekToday, Eon Mothership, Zap2It, Star Trek Central and various correspondents for helping to create the vast web of interlinked sources aiming to make sure the fans will know the plots of the season finale and next film before the casts do.

Trek News: UPN Uncertainties

The United Paramount Network, launched along with Star Trek: Voyager in 1995, spent last week reassuring critics and advertisers that it will continue to exist beyond the Jan. 15 expiration of the network's agreement with stations owned by Chris-Craft Industries to run UPN programming. Longstanding rival Rupert Murdoch, who controls Fox, now owns those stations. Murdoch has shown surprising willingness to maintain UPN programming, leading many to speculate that he wants to acquire a share in the network.

Yet Murdock reportedly resists a 5-year agreement between the affiliate stations and UPN, which parent company Viacom very much desires. Viacom owns the fledgling network outright, having bought out partner Chris-Craft last year in a nasty struggle that climaxed with Murdoch's takeover of the stations. Viacom has since made it clear that unless UPN becomes profitable, its operations will be terminated. This would likely have no impact on Star Trek: Voyager in the final weeks of its run, but would certainly affect the next Star Trek series as well as UPN shows like WWF Smackdown!

Executives said that for the moment, the network will continue to be known as the United Paramount Network, rather than simply The Paramount Network as was announced last year. UPN president Dean Valentine said he was confident that a multi-year renewal of the agreement with Chris-Craft was imminent, meaning that stations in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco among other cities would continue to carry UPN programming.

As an assurance to advertisers, UPN has promised to step up its appeal to its target demographic: young men between ages 18 and 34. Among the additions to the lineup will be Special Unit 2, in which a squad of detectives hunt for werewolves, gargoyles and the like, much as Buffy the Vampire Slayer hunts for vampires. Twin Peaks Mark Frost will produce All Souls, about a doctor working in a grotesquely haunted Civil War-era hospital. Then there's new animated road-trip comedy Gary & Mike, which the network labels 'Gumby for adults.

UPN has also promised a public service campaign aimed at promoting sexual health among teens. Lest anyone should think the network is more interested in the 'health' part than the 'sexual' part, one of the spots will feature a dog named Stiffy who 'becomes overeager with an attractive young woman.' If that's not sexy enough for viewers, the network has also promised a sequel to its special on Cheating Wives. In keeping with this level of good taste, the reality show Manhunt will send WWF-style hunters after amateur adventurers with a variety of weapons for capture, while When Chefs Attack: America's Filthiest Restaurants will offer 'stomach-turning surveillance footage taped in restaurants the world over.'

Apparently WWF Smackdown! will remain on Thursday nights, though it may lose a significant share of its audience to CBS's Survivor sequel. CBS is now part of the Viacom family, so perhaps some ungodly crossover deal can be worked out.

And how about that new Trek series? Ken Biller told the Eon Mothership Website that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have completed the pilot script, but filming is 'a little up in the air.' This spring, both the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild are expected to go on strike if current negotiations fail; given the many months it took to resolve the commercial actors' strike in 2000, that seems a likely eventuality.

'The earliest a new series could be on would be next fall so obviously there would be at least a summer [without Trek],' observed Biller. 'But I think it's possible that it'll be made in 2001.' Biller said he knew the concept of the new series, 'but I'm not going to tell you...I wish I could, but I can't.'

Berman confirmed the uncertainty about air dates, telling TV Guide that the 2001-02 TV season could mark the first year in the last 15 with no new televised Trek. A definitive schedule for filming 'is all really going to be contingent upon the strike,' said Berman.

Will there be a UPN by the time Series V is ready for broadcast? Stay tuned.

Trek Spoilers: Human Errors

In addition to the news on Series V, Eon Mothership got Biller to confirm some upcoming Voyager episode plots. He admitted that John De Lancie will reprise his role as Q later this season, and said that the Paris-Torres relationship would be furthered in 'Lineage'reportedly the episode in which the couple discovers that Torres is pregnant.

The official Trek site has updated its synopses and cast lists with information on 'Human Error,' a Seven of Nine story written by Brannon Braga and Andre Bormanis. When Voyager heads into a region of space being used by unidentified aliens for weapons tests, Seven of Nine must use her skills in astrometrics to steer clear of the hazardous areas. 'Seven of Nine, however, is becoming more and more distracted with a personal experiment, one that could change how she deals with her crewmates forever,' says startrek.com.

TrekWeb stated that this episode would involve Seven developing a fantasy life. Jeri Ryan has been speaking in interviews of her character 'experimenting with her emotions and her sexuality,' and becoming 'a tragic figure.' Robert Picardo said at a convention in Orlando recently that the lucky recipient of Seven's affections would be a holographic version of Chakotay, which is hilariousI wonder if her Chakotay hologram has more personality than the real thing! But this experiment is a clear violation of the Barclay Commandment, namely: thou shalt not sleep with holograms of thy shipmates, or thou wilt suffer eternal humiliation. Maybe when Voyager gets home, Seven can hook up with Barclay.

Picardo's a constant kidder, so he could be making it up. But it sounds like imaginary lovers don't work out any better for Seven than they have for Janeway. Thank god we have never had to see the captain kiss a hologram of Chakotay, despite her holographic proclivities, of which we have seen more than enough.

But speaking of the captain...Ken Biller elaborated to reporters on 'Work Force,' the February two-parter in which most of the crew are recruited as laborers for an alien planet and forget their lives on Voyager. 'Janeway gets involved in a romance and is having a whole new life when Chakotay comes back and realizes the whole ship is gone. He's got to go in and kind of rescue the crew. It's a big, planet-based show that we spent a lot of money on and built a lot of cool sets and big opticals for.'

'They feel at home, they've got work, they've got friends, they've got family, they've got lives,' Biller told the official Trek site. 'And it sort of begs the question, would it be better to have a simpler life than to get shot at by aliens every week and keep going on this very arduous journey? If Janeway falls in love with a guy, and she has a job punching a timeclock every day, would that make her happy?' The exec noted that the theme of the episode centers on the way people allow careerism to overwhelm their personal lives.

Kate Mulgrew has said of 'Work Force,' 'You've never seen [Janeway] act this young, this happy or this in love.' The more I hear about it, however, the less enthused I become. We've seen cool sets and big opticals before; they're meaningless without a solid story that tells us something new about the characters. And now we're going to find out that Janeway might have been better off staying home with the dog-sitter from 'Caretaker'? Is it too much to ask that just once Janeway fall in love while in command of herself and her ship, not while possessed by a mind-controlling alien, dominated by a powerful super-evolved male, forced to play games to protect her crew, stranded in a desert island fantasy or sniveling over a hologram? Thank the Prophets this is probably the last Janeway bimbo romance we'll ever have to sit through.

Naturally, Television Critics Association reporters asked Biller and the cast about what would happen during Voyager's two-hour finale in May. The actors denied all knowledge, and Biller insisted, 'I'm not going to tell you.' He did promise that the finale would be exciting, and he thought it would 'surprise the audience. Obviously, there are lots of expectations, but I'm not going to comment on which of these we're going to meet.'

Berman, too, declined last week to give TV Guide details of either the new show or the next movie. But he did say that the film being written by John Logan could possibly incorporate some of the Voyager cast as well as those from The Next Generation, which led Kate 'Set Me Free' Mulgrew to suggest aloud that she might want a role. Sounds like Berman expects Voyager to get home.

Marina Sirtis and Michael Dorn spoke about the tenth film at a Slanted Fedora con in New York. TrekToday reports that Sirtis refused to comment on what she'd heard would happen to Deanna in the movie, but Dorn suggested that Riker and Troi would get married. Dorn's nearly as much of a kidder as Picardo, so this might not be legit intel, but there you have it.

Trek TV: Lost and Found

Tom Nunan, the president of UPN Entertainment, announced to the Television Critics Association that the Voyager finale would air Wednesday, May 23 on network stations. 'We are immensely proud of this extraordinary series, one that launchedand inaugurated a broadcast networkon Jan. 16, 1995, and since then has ensconced itself into science fiction history,' he pontificated. 'Saying farewell to the exceptional cast and production team will be sad.'

To mitigate the sorrow, Nunan said, 'we wanted to share with our viewers the many fond memories of this compelling and provocative series' by airing a retrospective on May 22, featuring interviews, bloopers and clips from Voyager episodes. Following the special, UPN will show the episode selected as the viewers' favorite. Ah, but what will UPN do if the viewers choose a two-parter?

Fans who have already had enough of Voyager will be pleased that the Sci-Fi Channel has resumed daily broadcasts of the original series episodes. Classic Trek now airs at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, replacing Xena: Warrior Princess. The Sci-Fi Channel will still air special Star Trek features, like a mini-marathon on Jan. 24 and a 12-hour Chain Reaction on Feb. 19.

In the best news to come out of the Television Critics Association reports, Rick Berman said at the Voyager press junket there is a small chance of a two-hour Deep Space Nine television movie being produced. 'I think it's a possibility, but nothing that's in any kind of serious discussion,' he said. Several Trek veterans like Lolita Fatjo have asserted at conventions that there was no hope whatsoever of a DS9 revival, so in this case, any news is good news.

Trek People: Facing the End

Kate Mulgrew wept for the Television Critics Association, saying seven years 'is a long time to be, as we say, 'in the trenches' with people who...have become more intimate to you than those in your personal life.' The Voyager cast appeared along with executive producers Berman and Biller at the UPN Winter Press Tour, answering questions from reporters about how they would like their characters' stories to be resolved. Mercifully, Mulgrew restrained herself this time around from wishing aloud that Janeway would go out in a coffina statement she made during a previous press tour, prompting immediate retractions from UPN.

'I love them... It's been a marvelous journey with these guys,' Mulgrew said of her cast mates, a sentiment echoed by others among the cast. Both Mulgrew and Robert Duncan McNeill, who plays Tom Paris, said they thought it was time for the ship to land, though McNeill added that he thought it was important to maintain an element of surprise as well. The actors claimed ignorance of any plans, but Tim Russ joked in a most un-Vulcan-like manner that, 'There is probably a fan in Iowa who does know.'

Biller confirmed that he and Berman have the plot for the finale outlined, but added, 'We do sometimes change our minds.' Both producers stressed that there are many issues to be dealt with other than the issue of whether the ship gets home. Berman also said that security is of paramount importance, so they are trying to keep the script in the hands of as few people as possible in order to keep details from leaking onto the Internet.

Given the recent publication of the shooting script for the upcoming episode 'Shattered' and the extensive spoilers for the Deep Space Nine finale that leaked weeks before it aired, Berman's concern is understandable. Mulgrew's recent suspicion that Voyager may film multiple endings also makes sense, particularly in light of persistent rumors that a main character would be killed during the denouement. Whether Mulgrew will get her long-stated wish for her own character to die remains to be seen. When Berman said it was possible that Voyager characters might appear in an upcoming Next Generation movie, she interrupted to ask for more information.

Robert Picardo talked to Starlog recently about his hopes for the end of the show, reiterating his desire for the Doctor finally to choose a name, preferably that of his creator Zimmerman. He also would like some closure concerning the Doctor's unfulfilled romantic feelings for Seven of Nine. But foremost in his mind is the question of whether the Doctor will even remain active once Voyager reaches Earth.

'He's the only one who can say that his home is Voyager,' noted Picardo. 'We learned last season that all of the others like him, all of the first-generation EMHs, have been re-commissioned for waste management use because the program was considered a colossal failure. What will happen to the Doctor when the ship gets home will provide an interesting resolution to his story.'

Trek Awards: TV Guide, Grammy and More

Seven of Nine will face down the Borg Queen once more when Jeri Ryan and Susanna Thompson compete for the TV Guide Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama. Thompson, who appeared on Voyager most recently in 'Unimatrix Zero Part Two,' has been nominated for playing Karen Sammler on Once And Again. The two Trekkers go up against Alyson Hannigan, who plays Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as Stockard Channing from Voyager's time slot competitor The West Wing and Angie Harmon from Law and Order. Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, will go head to head with Dark Angel Jessica Alba for a Golden Globe Awarda breakthrough for both genre shows. Fox's Dark Angel was also named top new dramatic TV series at the People's Choice Awards.

When the nominations for the 43rd annual Grammy Awards were announced last week, Eminem's controversial acclaim overshadowed the presence of several Trek alums. However, many fans noticed Patrick Stewart's presence on one of the nominees for Best Spoken Word Album, The Complete Shakespeare Sonnets, read by Stewart along with Al Pacino, Kathleen Turner and others. In addition, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who appeared in the Voyager episode 'Good Shepherd,' was nominated along with his band for Best Rock Album (The Battle of Los Angeles) and Best Hard Rock Performance ('Guerrilla Radio'). The Grammys will be awarded on Feb. 21.

William Shatner was not nominated for a Grammy, but he was a presenter at the 28th American Music Awards, where country star Faith Hill took home top honors. Unfortunately Shatner wasn't a singing host, as in his latest film, Miss Congeniality. But fans can check out shatnerrocks.com to hear some of his classics.