Episode 623- Jon Simpson "Sarek" in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - Interview

0:06 Ching ways Fox Beer Look is acting very weird. Captain Pike siscous wife ring on Sandi after like Boimer, Tendy Starbransom. Is very hard. Sport Drive black Alert, Torgio has gone passer. Teacher bad laughed? Where is any is Pakistan warfers were Checkout's wearing red Tita's. Cat cam back sat You has had enough for that. Fannie up, make it so everybody lets go about the series. He's us up the phone. Now talk about the series.

0:48 I'm coming to d services. Now we talk about the series. Comes the Harmless. Slowly down, Well, good evening, Trekky's and Trekkers around the globe. It it's February twentieth, Thursday Night, twenty twenty five. I'm your most excellent host, uncle Jim. How you doing tonight? Welcome to episode six hundred and twenty three of Trek Talking. And we've got a lot lot of fun plan for you guys tonight. And before we go too far, though, I would like to introduce to you my awesome trek experts.

1:35 And we'll start off with Eric. Eric is I'm in Portland. How you doing tonight? Eric? Doing pretty good? Jim, it's been a good week so far, and as we always like to say, it is Friday's Eve, so you know what's not to like about that? True? True? And also from Portland, we have a very own toy guy, Paul. How you doing tonight, Paul? Hey, Uncle Jim. I'm doing okay, you know, as good as I can be during the late nineteen thirties, and right Doc, I'm fine, trying to stay warm, great, trying to stay ahead of the pans aer tanked right. Yo. And also great Portland, we have our very own David, my miracle worker himself. How you doing tonight, David?

2:21 Pretty good? Pretty good? I am very kited about talking with Jonathan. Yes, yeah, you and me, both, you and me both, and we're gonna swing out to Las Vegas and we're gonna say hello to Charles. How you doing tonight, Charles? I'm doing good, enjoying our spring like weather and. Looked thing to continue my conversation with Jonathan, and that you will. You guys can head over to truck talkin dot com. Next week we're gonna have David Orange, who played the sleepy kling On in Star Trek six. If you head over to treuk talkin dot com in the bottom right hand corner. There's a little blue talkback Mike. All you need to do is click on that mic, record your question, and we will play it on the show next week and get an answer for you. All right, let's see on tonight's show, we're gonna do some fans shout outs.

3:14 We're going to go around the globe and see where everybody's from. We've got some pole questions. We're gonna do our Star Trek birthdays, and we're going to talk about the new Starfleet Academy. We've got some news to share on that. But before we go too far, we have a very special guest with us. Very special to me because, as you know, Star Trek five is my favorite Star Trek movie. So any chance that I get an opportunity to talk to someone from Star Trek five, I do. And tonight is a special night for me because we have Jonathan Simpson with us and he's ready to talk with us. He played Young Sarah in the Flashback Scenes and Star Trek five The Final Frontier. He's appeared in the films A Stranger to Love, Film Club, The Pure Snappers, and Joelene, and he's a hearing on stage in Los Angeles and Phoenix and worked on motion pictures, television shows, and a multitude of commercials. He currently focuses on a sense of lighting and composition through his photography. Welcome to the podcast, Jonathan.

4:15 Hey there guys, thank you so much for having me on here. It looks like a lot of fun. It's gonna be fun. I love talking Star Trek five. Before we get going, though, I do want to have David roll a little clip. This is you in Star Trek five with Cybok and Spock doing the flashback scene in the cave. Let it roll, David. Now we're taken the first step. The other steps we'll take together. Each man's pain is unique. I had no pain.

5:01 I know you better than that. Do you spark? Don't? It's all right, I kept proceed. Wow, what is this? I believe we are witnessing my birth? Oh oh it's true. H m hm.

5:57 Sarah, your son. So human? Spat all? Right? There you have it. So we talked a little bit before the show, but now we're doing it for real. So let's start off with you know, were you a Star Trek fan before you winded the role? And start for five?

6:42 Absolutely? I wouldn't consider myself a Treky at that point. But you know, were there really Trekies back in nineteen sixty eight, Not sure. But when I was a kid, you know, I was probably about eight or nine years old when I first saw Star Trek and I really liked those outfits that the women wore on the show, and it was I was an immediate fan of Star Trek Universe. Yes, absolutely. And then later on, when I grew up a little bit more, I you know, in high school and college, they started, you know, rerunning it every afternoon, the original series, and so then I caught them all again. And then I was a big Next Gen fan when that came out too. I love Captain Piccard.

7:27 I just think he's the momb. He's the man. So I was to mentioned this a little bit earlier when I took my wife to go see Star Trek five in nineteen eighty nine. We're sitting in the theater watching it and my wife says, to me, you didn't tell me Patrick Swayze was in this movie, And I said, I don't think that was Patrick Swayze. So do you ever get accused of looking like Patrick swayzey? I absolutely do. I think it was about twenty sixteen or so when I did the Vegas Convention and I was sitting there at my table and some guy just stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me and stared at my name, and stared at me and stared at my name, and then he said yes, and he walked over and he said, I have had a bet with my wife for years now. She is totally convinced that Pat that's Patrick swayzey with another fake, made up name.

8:23 And he's like, no, it's Jonathan Simpson. He lives in Phoenix now. He's a photographer and he teaches it acting at ASU and all that stuff, and and she's like nop. She refused to believe it, even with evidence. There are some people like that nowadays, you know. And and so what what he did. He's like, please, can I take a picture with you? And I'm like, of course. So he and I took a picture together, and he took that back home where hopefully that photograph could serve as evidence that I do, in fact exist and that you're not Patrick Swayze's TWI not Patrick Swayze. Although his wife was pretty hot, you gottad she was indeed, and he was a very talented individual. And I and and I'm sorry that he left us way too early because he was he was so multi multi talented. That man very good, very much.

9:13 So. Yeah, Now, when Star Trek five premiered, did you get a chance to go on the red carpet for the grand opening and see the movie with all the other actors. No. In nineteen eighty nine, the cast and crew all got invited to a cast and a cruise screening ahead of time, and so I went there, you know, I think it was on Wilshire somewhere. We went to a theater on Wilshire, and you know, we got in and we watched the movie and it was very exciting, of course. And then after that we you know, we we just like had a buffet and drinks and stuff afterwards. But what was so funny was that that during the movie, when they went to see God, an actor that I had done a play with like a year before popped up as God.

10:03 And it was George Murdoch, who everyone also knew from as Detective Scanlon on Barney Miller. And he's an amazing actor. He was just so so talented, and the fact that he did the play with us. You know, the rest of us were all, you know, twenty two to twenty three whatever. And the fact that he committed all that time and actually did this play with us, it was called The Moon Children, was so exciting to work with someone of that caliber of talent. And then I had no idea of course he was in the movie, because you know, we shot on completely different days and as I'm like, wait, that's George. And then and then of course the credits were also very exciting because they were only like eight of us in the movie, and we each got our own card that went by, and I was like, you know, because I was expecting to be in some tiny little scroll or something, and so that was also kind of cool. But then I got to catch up with George afterwards, so that was fun.

10:55 Now what kind of director was William Shatner? What was it like working with him as a director? You know, it was a very stressful day for everybody, including mister Shatner, because we had two babies on this on on ready to go as you know, baby Spock, and the rules and regulations of how and when you can use the babies and the time limits that you have are extremely tight. I think you only had, like, you know, maybe as soon as the baby was on set, you had maybe fifteen or twenty minutes with that baby, and then you had to swap it out for the twin. So yeah, so so it was a very stressful day.

11:39 And as you as you watched that scene, there's a lot of camera movement, and anytime there is camera movement, there is you know, it's like it's like it's like orchestrating choreography. Everyone has their move and when they go here and when they go there, and so so we rehearsed it many, many, many times with a baby. So some of the pictures that you might see out there in the universe with me and a plastic doll, I've seen a couple of those out there. So we rehearsed, rehearse, rehearse camera movement and all that, and many many times got it right with the baby doll and then boomed the baby, flew in, make up on the baby, get the baby ready, and then you know, we shot, and I think we did I don't know, I want to say four to five takes until the time he felt right to mister Shatner, and and he was just super cool with me, very supportive, you know. I mean I was excited when I when I got the audition. You know, the first audition was with the casting director who was super nice, and you know, I just went in and you know, said my two words. You know, it's not Shakespeare, but you know what I mean, and and he's like great, and then he sent me home and I just, you know, like like you do with all acting auditions, you just say, you know, forget about it, it will never happen, you know, go on with your life. And then you know, I got the phone call, hey, you know, can you meet William Shatner and Harve Bennett tomorrow at Paramount? And I'm like, well, let me see here, okay. So uh yeah, So you know,

13:10 I went there and of course I had that I had my two words ready to go, and I waited and then finally, uh, Harve Bennett's office swung open and and mister Shatner came out and said, John, come on in. And I went in there and they both just kind of stared at me like this, you know, and I'm like, did you want to hear the line or you know, and they're like, oh, that's okay. John, okay, thank you for coming in, John, thank you, thank you, and uh, you know, and so then I you know, said, oh, okay again, you know you erase the memory banks, you say, it would have been so great to get that, but you know, probably not going to happen. And then I got the call that you know, it happened the day before Thanksgiving that year, and uh so that that's how came about pretty much.

14:01 That they didn't mention that you look like Patrick Swayze at the at then. No, they didn't. Patrick could probably already turned it down. It was just you know, he's he's he had a three word minimum and this only had two. So yeah, I'm sure. So would you talk a little bit about working with Leonard Nimoy at that point? Well, my, my, my exposure to mister Leonard was very brief because you know, we did all the rehearsals. As I recall, I can't remember whether he was in on the rehearsals at the beginning or he just kind of they added him in at the last minute. So, you know, again it's a very stressful time as money, money, as time, the babies and all that. So it wasn't like I was really like hanging out on the set with him and could like, you know, talk to him about all the things I would want to talk to Leonard and them way about, but instead it was just like a very brief you know. He kind of walked up there to get in his place, and then I just kind of turned and I said, you know, mister Nemo, I'm so pleased to meet you. And his hand was like, you know, this big it was. He's just a very big man. And I shook his hand and he said, nice to meet you. And that's about really all the time we had and everything else was just boom boom boom boom boom.

15:18 We had to move, you know, Yeah, I bet, I bet. So how did you prepare for your two lines as Sarah? Did you? Did you talk to Mark Leonard for some pointers? Oh? I would love to have no, you know, I remember, I mean this is nineteen eighty nine. You know, we've got vc RS kind of, but you know, who knows when anything was on. I don't think I had cable TV at the time, so you know, I had no way of accessing like we have today of you know, episodes and going through a lot of Spock War. But what I did have was bookstores, and so I basically went to all the bookstores and I just went through and anything that was Spock related, you know, those little dime store novella things, you know, I bought like two or three of those, and I read those from cover to cover, just to give me a little bit more background about about, you know, the Spock Vulcan universe. So that that that's pretty much was what I did for research.

16:15 And did they give you any pointers on how to place seric or did they did they leave the two lines completely up to you? Two words? I'm sorry the two words. No, you know, I. I don't recall mister Shatner ever really giving me a line reading or saying that's not quite it. How about this? I think he really you know, I mean, I knew I had to bring a emotional non emotionalness. To it, so to speak. So you know, that's that's what I tried to work on, was you know, having all that going on deep under the surface. But of course there's no way that any of that can be seen or detected on the surface.

16:58 So hopefully that's what I achieved. But other than that that that, you know, I was really left my own court as far as the that part goes, yeah, delivery. Yes, well, we talked a little bit about before the show that you actually ran into John Abbot, hea Star Trek actor. Would you talk a little bit about that? So, yeah, you should all look up John Abbott on IMDb and he did play in one of the Star Trek episodes, possibly too. And he was a British actor. And you know, I was a you know, unemployed actor at the time, working temp jobs here and there, doing whatever.

17:39 And one of my friends at the theater company that we were at, Friends and Artists Theater Company on Vermont and between Franklin and Hollywood Boulevard, he was like, hey, you know, I just I did He was a really good carpenter, my friend Clay, and he's like, you know, I just did this job this guy up in Beechwood Canyon and I got to go by and pick up a check. But you know, I really feel better if you went with me. And I was like, you know, I didn't say anything, but I was like, what is he scared of this guy or what's the problem. So like, oh, yeah, sure, I got I'll go with you. So Clay and I went to John Abbott's place in the Hollywood Hills and you walk in and his whole place was like, uh, like it looks like someone from Disney had been there and like built all the shelves and all the decorations and all the paintings, and I mean it was just crazy, all the work that he'd had done inside this place.

18:28 And you know, so we thought we were just gonna run in and grab the check and run out. But then of course John's like, oh, no, no, you boys, you must sit down. I make you some tea. And he went and made us some tea, and he poured us some tea, and then he said, can I can I Can I share with you boys some of my limericks. And were like, well, yeah, that's cool. Yeah, let's hear it. And so he opened up his you know, pages, and then he just started saying these limericks, and uh, mister Abbott was was a very gay individual and a little little little he was a little light in the loafers, I guess, they'd say, and there's nothing wrong with that. Those are some of my you know, best friends from theater and everything. Are absolutely it's part of my family, really, And so I didn't have a problem with that, but I think Clay didn't want to be alone for some reason, because Clay was an attractive young man, you know. And so we sat down and then John started on these limericks, and then what we realized very soon is that they were all very gay centric, and they always had like something very like oh my at the end of the limerick.

19:38 You know, so the rest of the limbrick would almost seem pretty good, but then you get to those last two lines you go, oh my god, you know so, which is why he wanted just to say them to us, I think. But I wish I would have known all of his credits at the time, we didn't have the Internet. If I'd known all the credits that John habbitt Abbot had in all the amazing actors like Kerry Grant and everybody else that he had worked with, I would have like I could have, like, you know, bent his ear for a couple hours just asking Hi about working with Ingrik Bergman and all these other amazing actors. He's really got a lot of credit, so look him up. He was quite a talent. Well, Jonathan, I've had a lot of fun talking to you about Star Trek five and I'm sure my other truck spurts are chopping at the bit to ask you some questions. So I guess I will turn the microphone over to Paul.

20:27 Hey, Jonathan, how you doing good? How are you? I'm good man. It's pleasure to meet you in this virtual crazy environment that we have here. So very cool. He just blew my mind. Man. I don't know if all the other trexperts Jonathan Abbott, But guys, you remember original series, right, Aaron of Mercy. He's like the head organian guy, right, you know, I mean he's basically you know Aleborn, if I remember correctly, right, And so now I'm hearing the limericks spouting Alborn. I'm like, I'm never gonna be able to watch that scene. It's quite the same. Hey, Johnath Then I think I'm. And look and look up his credits. I mean, that's unbelievable the stuff he's done, because he's Claude Rains and all the forties and fifties and it's just super old.

21:13 School, you know, I mean theatrically trained him. Sure, right, oh, absolutely, phenomenal, phenomenal. I wanted to ask you, I'm always interested in this, Uh you know when you were like, presumably like a kid or a teen, right, was there a movie you saw or a stage performance or something that said, you know, I think this acting thing is something I want to give a try. Was there where a moment you remember that just said, man, I gotta I gotta look into this. Uh well, I was always a goofball and and love to do funny stuff. And if you know, if I could ride a bike at high speed into bushes and get people to laugh, that's you know, So what about all the scratches and all that stuff. I don't care.

22:04 I just I always wanted to entertain people. And I think it was about the middle of my sophomore year in high school. At that point, I was going to go to Devri School of Electronics because I loved I loved electronics, you know, and and I just you know, I started getting into uh into classes in high school and uh stage speech, you know, where you could do and go and do competitions and stuff and winning, you know, winning stuff, and I thought, you know, I think this is what I want to do the rest of my life. And you know, my parents were like, all right, good luck with that. So uh yeah, so I'd say, sophomore year in high school is when I just said, nah, I think this is what I need to do. So my fate was sealed.

22:49 Excellent, excellent. Yeah, and are you are you still do? I see that you've done a lot of like, uh, I was it assue or you're doing teaching acting as well? Yeah. I taught acting for TV film and a bunch of film studies at ASSU for about seventeen or eighteen years. I'm not doing the teaching so much anymore. I'm more and then, you know, in two thousand and eight, when all that happened, that was when I kind of brought my teaching career to an end, and so I started doing what was a hobby at that point, photography full time. And so since two thousand and eight it's been pretty much my full time gig is to do do that. And the way I saw it was just, you know, I'm basically a cinematographer, but one frame at a time, you know, because I always had a love of cinematography always.

23:38 And how amazing is it to jump from like one focus of the arts to another right and to be able to just you know, transition like that is pretty wild. Yeah, when you were teaching acting. What because there's a lot of different schools of thought right on acting, and sure, what's the thing that you if there was like one thing you wanted to make sure that, like actors who were starting to take this seriously that you thought would be most helpful for them for like building a character or just getting comfortable. What would you try to Was there one thing you really wanted to make sure they didn't miss? Well, My my job was primarily of taking whatever they've learned, their method or their whether they're Strasburg or you know, whoever they you know, Miisner, whatever, whatever their method teaching was, take that and then make it fit within this frame.

24:28 You know. So I would say the big, the big thing that I would teach actors is you've got to know your frame, especially in an audition, you know, because actors are always standing there and they've got a camera twelve feet away, and so they just naturally act like they're on the stage, you know what I mean, Like there's someone standing twelve feet away and I'm like, no, you have to ask them what's my frame? And if they tell you it's this, I said, well, then you have to act like the camera is right here, you know, and and you know, so I would have an actor do something really big, and then I would show him the frame and then I would stand like really like right in front of him like this is say you see what I mean.

25:10 It's it's too big for you. You know, the camera is is is getting it. You don't have to go to the camera. It comes to you and it just it feels you. It takes in what's what's going on inside. You don't have to show it like to the back of the theater, you know what I mean. Yeah, so you're teaching specifically for film, then specifically, Yeah, somebody who's done theater is going to be really big and expansive and you sort of have to. And the other thing I told him is, look at look where that mic is. You know, if the mic is four feet over your head, you know, it's a wide shot, you know, and you're gonna have to project a little bit. But then once that mic comes down in right here, you know, you know he's just trying to stay out of frame and that you know that that's your close up and you don't need to project.

26:00 You just need to feel you know. Yeah, fun, who do you like right Now. I saw some turnarounds of actors that I just boggled my brain from the first, you know, beginning of the semester to the very end of the semester, and it was really encouraging. Who do I like it? And I'm just curious, I like the young generation that you've seen recently coming up? Is there anybody really he's going places, she's going places that is really that you think that they just have a that's really resonated for you. Have you seen Colin Ferrell in Help Me Penguin Penguin? Yeah, I get amazing.

26:40 I could care less about you know, the whole superhero thing, the DC thing, the Superman thing. I get so bored with those movies. Okay, yeah, you're gonna grab this thing and throw it into that and then you're gonna grab that gigantic thing that no one else can lift. You're gonna crush it on his head and then you know, I'm just so bored by those movies. So when that came out, I was like, who cares? But people kept on saying to me because you know, and I've said this for years to all my trek friends, They're like, well, are you a Trekky and I'm like, no, actually, I'm a sopranoi. I mean that to me, the Sopranos is you know, I've watched the entire series nine times, Like.

27:20 Can you not forget about it? I mean, it's. Finally. I kept hearing people say, oh, it's it's sort of like a mix between the Sopranos and what Who? Okay, So then I watched it and I was just like waiting for Colin Ferrell to show up, and. He never did. I don't know how he did it. It's such a remarkable, remarkable performance. I can't wait to go through it the second time. It's unbelievable. I mean if our audience has never seen it, I mean he's unrecognizable and his voice is completely different. And and I mean, you know, because you've played a vulcan, I mean under all this makeup, Oh my god, you know, you know, imagine that it was something we're gonna attach you to your ears and we're gonna, you know, slick your hair back. I mean it's just I mean, I mean sometimes I don't makeup. It can be helpful, but to wear that much of an appliance like that guy, my.

28:15 Makeup experience with with Star Trek five was not nearly as brutal as his. You know, I just had to go into the valley and go in some guy's garage, Like who is this guy? So I go in his garage and he starts building little molds around my ears and then pouring uh you know stuff, you know, plug my ear up first, thankingfully, and then he you know, he made molds of both ears so that he could you know, do the clay vulcan ear, and then he did reverse molds to just have those little rubber tips. So yeah, I can't imagine sitting in the makeup thing for five six hours just having them put layer after layer.

28:55 That's what, you know why Jim Carrey had a panic attack the first couple of days he did the Grinch. He just was he felt like he was he was being buried alive. Wow. And they finally had to like put pipe in music and have a yoga instructor just kind of talking through meditation stuff. And yeah, because's like smithering right, It's just oh my gosh, I can't even imagine. But yeah, Pharal's that's a great believes for folks who haven't seen it. It's just amazing. I gotta just ask, man, does it I mean, it's it's so great that you are willing to come on the podcast here for us, But does it ever? Sometimes this just blow your mind, like whatever it is thirty six, thirty seven years later that people are still you know, I mean it is. It is unbelievable to me. I mean I love Star Trek like crazy, right, I mean watching ever since I was you know what, like ten years old with Syndicator e runs, right, But I still love it. It's great. But sometimes you just take a step back. It's just like this is.

29:48 Still going, still going. Yeah, we're still talking about these you know things that the time somebody thought I'm writing this episode and it's paychecking them done. But now people are pouring over it like it's the Torah or something. Yes, right, crazy, right, man, it's wild. It's insane. Yeah, you know, and none of us had the idea in nineteen eighty nine that that would happen, you know, So it's crazy. Well, it's a treat to get to meet you, sir, and thank you for having me, and it's an absolute delight. Jim is one of these people. He's really loves Star Trek five and he just knows it better than anybody, and it's his baby. So there's any chance to have anybody that was affiliated with that, he's very excited. So it's a big it's a very special moment on the show when we can get somebody who was part of that experience. So my pleasure. Thank you for sharing your stories.

30:36 I'm going to pass this over to spin my mental wheel. Oh god, it's landing on Eric. I'm sorry, Jonathan, it's landing on Eric. What can I do? It's random, Cham, I'll. Do my best. Well, thank you Paul for the handoff, and thanks Jonathan for joining us. My blood sounded like you were saying that your your Star Trek origin story sort of reaches back to the original series. Is that? Oh yeah, absolutely? Did you watch episodes when you were a young ling or when I was a kid, you know, absolutely, yeah, I loved it, you know, for obvious reasons, I'm afraid, but you know yeah, yeah, no, I mean a kid, you know, absolutely, And I mean back then, your your choices for science fiction were not as vast as they are now, so not.

31:22 At all, you know, And I was also a Twilight Zone fan, and uh, what was the other one? Oh, Night Gallery? Oh remember that Ring Gallery? Yeah? I love those too. Those those dabbled in sci fi, but you weren't absolutely guarantee to get sci fi, but they were still so the storytelling was so you know, Rod Serling was a genius, absolute genius. Absolutely, I mean, mixing sci fi and horror and creepy stuff and thriller and drama and everything in one show was pretty amazing. Yeah. Yeah, do you have a favorite Star Trek movie of the movies that exist? I do? It is? Wait, what was that, Jim? What's my favorite one?

32:04 Trying to extrandic Cajolia into Stay and five? For sure, I'm sorry, I had already picked it out before I did Star Trek five, I think. And my favorite was, and I don't know exactly why. Maybe you guys can tell me The Search for Spock. I just the third one. I just something about that movie just uh maybe it's hopeful message and it's uh, you know, uh resurgence and yeah, just the fact that they brought Spock back. I just was that that one just really really worked for me. Everyone, you know, everyone liked the movie after that, The fourth with the cute whales, I always say to people, They're like, what movie were you in? I said, well, you know, the really cute movie with all the whales and all that stuff. And they're like, yeah, not that one. I was in the one after, And they're like, the one after. I'm not sure I saw that one. I'm like, yeah, that's the one I'm in.

32:58 But but as Jim has said today and as Laurence Luckinbill and all of us when we did the on stage at the convention, they were all talking about how the public opinion of Star Trek five has really changed drastically since it came out in eighty nine to ninety. You know, there's a lot of backlash against it. A lot of people who maybe didn't maybe thought Shatner was you know, was trying to you know, be like Leonard and be an amazing director, and they didn't want him to do that, and they didn't like the movie. And then but now it's just really crazy when people come up to my table and they're like, oh my god, I love this movie, like really, and they're like, I mean, I have only seen this since like, you know, twenty when I came in twenty sixteen, and after before that, it was always kind of well that's okay movie. Yeah, all right, well maybe we'll stop by later. Thanks, you know, but it's kind of exciting to see that that's happened.

33:58 I mean, I feel like it's one of those movies that the I don't know, for me, the more I watched it, the more I kind of started to get what it was all about. And you know, I I remember when it first came out. I think one of the things that maybe might have turned people off was at the time, You'll remember, everybody thought that was the last Star Trek movie. It's the final Frontier, right, so you know, that was that was the assumption. I think that that was going to be the last one that they ever made, and it didn't feel like a you know, sending our crew off into the distance kind of kind of movie, which I think Star Trek's did a pretty good good job of in the end. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, Star Trek three is great, super hopeful.

34:40 I agree, it's it's a great movie. What about what about? Actually, you've had all of these acting roles, and obviously these days you're doing the photography thing, but in your in your life, do you have favorite acting roles that you've done, whether it's movie or play or anything, it stands out. Well. The only reason I moved to Hollywood was to become rich and famous so that I could do theater for the rest of my life. So it didn't quite work out that way. So that's all right. But you know, I I love being on the theater, on the stage because it's two hours of uninterrupted boom boom boom, boom boom, you know. And there were a lot of plays I did in la and I've done here in Phoenix, you know.

35:23 And I'm not done. I'm not done. I really think now that I'm you know, sixty something, I'm going to I'm going to take more time and and and do the acting things that I enjoy. I I uh, you know, Albuquerque is just going nuts with the Breaking Bad crew. They're coming back to do another thing. You know. Toronto is going crazy with all the Star Trek stuff. So now that I have the freedom to travel, you know, and all that, I'm really thinking about, you know, kind of starting the acting thing again. Why not, you know. So And part of it is, you know, I want to go to more conventions instead of I went including the lit Vegas convention, i'd like to, you know, have now that I have the time and I don't have the two girls. You know, I wrote I raised two girls, you know, and there they both now one lives in London and one lives in Hawaii. So I'm a empty continental and uh, you know, so that's that job is done.

36:18 So I really now have kind of the time and the freedom to kind of you know, pursue acting a little bit more and uh and hopefully get back in the into the Star Trek universe. Somehow I got to break in. Anybody have any knowledge how I can do that? Oh my gosh, that might be amazing to see you in some modern Trek. I'd have you kept up with sort of the modern Trek stuff. Oh yeah, yeah, and I would love to do it. I'm just not quite sure how to crack that nut, you know, you know, whether I have to move back to la and then get cast in something that's going on in Toronto or you know, we'll see. I I'm not sure any guy else is accepted the saying. Maybe Jim's got some kind of connection that I don't know. But there we go, there we go.

37:02 Well, I always appreciate, you know, artists who like to do multiple things. And so the photography angle, which you've you said it has been kind of your full time job for a long time. Was that always something you were interested. In or was it something I bought a a film camera and college and all the books and learned about it and did that, moved off to LA did the acting thing was always the you know, still production photographer for the for the theater company, and the documentarian too. I took a lot of pictures around and they've served as like to document that period of time. And then at some point I was teaching at ASU and the students kept coming to me with their headshots and I'd say, I'd look at there was a thing called a proof sheet back in those days, and I look at it and I go, how long did this person spend with you?

37:51 And they're like, oh, twenty minutes? What did you pay them? Two hundred and fifty dollars? And I'm like, I can do this better than that, you know, and so and that's what I did. Know. At first, I just did it for free. And then as soon as I felt like I was doing it as good as everybody else, I you know, started charging. So that's been that's been fun. I've met a lot of really cool people. I've done conferences, events, you know, all sorts of I used to do weddings. I'm not doing them so much anymore. They're just they're too stressful. And there's there's no redos, there's no Oh, I'm sorry, I missed that. Can we just go back again really quick? You know, it just doesn't happen. So it's just too stressful. I don't want to deal with it, but but I love it. What's your favorite camera to use right now?

38:33 I'm well, I've been a Canon guy all the all this time. My Canon five D Mark two was really great. I love that camera. I still have it. But now I'm onto the R five C, which has amazing video capability which I've only scratched the surface of. So i'd like to I'd like to get into a lot more of the video side of that. And and I and I'm a musician. So as a matter of fact, when you were playing that Billy Joel, the Billy Joel opening Billy Joel since I was you know, I've been playing drums since I was six, and Billy Joel has been my go to you know, drum listening to Billy Joel and always I fantasize in my head that Liberty DeVito his drummer. You know, I go to the concert and then all of a sudden he gets hit by a meteor or something, and they say, gee, golly, does anyone know how to play drums to Billy Joel? And I go right here, you know, So, as I'm sitting there playing to Billy Joel, That's what I'm thinking. No, you never know, it might happen, So you still have a chance.

39:36 Man, You just got to go to all his shows. Dang well, I'll admit that that was one of our favorite songs to write. You know, very funny. There's a lot of lyrics packed into a little tiny space, just like in the actual songs. Yeah, exactly, that's great. I love it. Awesome. All right, Well, I want to keep this ball moving, so I'll just say thanks for chatting with me, and uh, I think I'm gonna I'm gonna pass this interview Mike over to Charles. Thank you, Eric, and thank you Jonathan. I think one of the things I will throw out, and what I implied earlier today was to say, to continue our conversation, I'm curious what it was like to be on stage as char Trek Las Vegas with them, with some of the people that were in Star Trek five, and just just just talking about what what it was like relive in your history of doing that movie.

40:40 Yeah. I was so glad they asked me to do that because you know, unfortunately, you know, when I shot my scene, Lawrence had left for the day, and so had a lot of the other actors. I mean, I had the entire I literally got on Paramount set at seven am, and I you know, know that this is before Instagram existed, but you know, one could smuggle a thirty five millimeter film camera onto the lot if one was smart, and one would take pictures of oneself getting ready for that in their trailer and all that stuff that could happen. I'm just saying, but you know, I had the whole data fart around pretty much. And you know, they did my hair, which was the regulation Star Trek hair, which Jim Carrey wears in Dumb and Dumber, you know, So they flattened my hair, they sprayed the heck out of it, and they put panty hose on my head. So I had to walk around with the pantyhose to flatten my hair, and then they took that off, they got the bowl out, they cut, they did the bowl cut and gave me the Jim Carrey Star Trek regulation haircut. And then for the rest of the day, you know, they put my ears on, they did the makeup, and then I just had nothing to do, so I just kept walking on to the giant sound stage where they were shooting you know, uh Doc McCoy's uh scene with his dad right before.

42:11 You know, so I kept a distance. You know, it was a very intimate scene, so I didn't, you know, get too close, but but I got to see that, and I got to walk on the bridge was right over here, and then the the bar that's in the desert was right over here, so I got to walk in that one. So I just pretty much spent most of the day just kind of wandering down the wandering around the paramount a lot. And then it was getting dark when they said, okay, we're almost ready for you, and then you know, I was like, oh, okay, you know, so that definitely the business of hurry up and wait. So and yes, I did get to keep my my set of ears, so you know, I took them off, and then I asked the makeup guy can I have this?

42:52 And he's like, yeah, sure, Like, well, can I have the They made two sets? I said, well can I have those? And he goes, no, They they they tell us to keep these just in case there's reshoots. So I'm like, oh, okay. And then years later I bumped into a guy at the convention who said he owns my outfit that I wore, which which I honestly, when I saw the movie, I was a little bummed for the lovely woman who had designed that costume because you couldn't see all the really fancy gold stuff that she did down here and all this. It was such a tight shot, you know, that her costume didn't quite make it onto the screen the way I wished it would have.

43:35 But but you know, that's all right. But this guy said, you know, yeah, there was a there was a auction at Paramount, and I went there and I knew exactly what it was and I bought it. So cool. Sounds like a lot of fun. In fact, I got a tricky friend who's telling me I got to get some ears for myself so I can do uh shaw shaw not shaw. The Captain from UH Percard. No, no, not for card from UH Discovery five. Oh, the one that came the XO with Burnham. You talked about people, you talked about doing the plays. I'm curious what your what role would you love to do.

44:33 On stage? What's that role that you'd like? Oh, I want that role. I want to do that play. Uh. I've always wanted to do Teva and Fiddler on the Roof. I can sing. That's just such a great, great, great Yeah. So I've always wanted to do Teva. You know, I love Shakespeare and I've never really gotten a chance to do much Shakespeare. So there are a lot of parts I've aged out of. Unfortunately, I'm a little too old to do Hamlet, but I'm sure there's there's a lot of parts in there, you know that I would. Love to do.

45:15 So well, when it comes to UH Shakespeare, maybe look into Utah or I think it's Oregon. Oh, yeah, true, they've Yeah, you know, that's an example, Charles that you know, I would like to You know, there's a thing called urda's, which are University Regional Theater auditions, which are you know, are three or four places across the country. They have those, and all these smaller you know, like Arizona Theater Company and all those, they send scouts to those and then all the actors just get up and go up. And I could go to the Los Angeles version of that, you know, and I bet you the you know, Utah Shakespeare Shakespeare Festival might there, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival there, you know. And so that's that's an example of in my retirement, something that I would like to get back into is like, you know, just what what what could it hurt?

46:09 Right exactly? We start seeing more you on stage. Yeah, and for me, you tossed out that that's a short drive. So yeah, true. All right, one last thing and then I'll pass it over to David. I noticed she had a couple of times TV work like Jack and the Fat Man. How's a differentiation between doing movies like Star Trek and doing a TV show. I find the TV TV directors, uh tweak your performance a lot more because it's a smaller screen. Uh you know, the audience isn't sitting there with this giganic image of you.

47:02 They really have to bring the audience to the TV and keep their attention. So a lot of times for TV stuff. I've gone in with my very kind of subtle, you know performance that I did in the audition, and I get on the set and there and then and they're like more more like like one of the worst, best worst, I'm not sure, was when I did an episode of Divorce Court. And and I mean this was a factory. They had this gigantic building that had you know, had the court setting obviously, and it was very much like a stage play. And they told they warned us about that. They said, you know, we just we just you run through the script and then we go to the next episode. And and I thought, wow, that's that's insane.

47:51 So I really literally had to without any rehearsal, you know, memorize all these lines and and uh. And it was interesting because you never knew where the cameras were because they had panels of the courtroom that all of a sudden they would just slide open and then the camera would stick through, and then he would go back, and then the slide would slide closed again. And so I started doing you know, what I felt was a believable performance. I'll send you a link to it, Charles, and you let me know. And but the director kept kept coming up to me and saying no, bigger, bigger, bigger, and I was just like, dude, you know, I want to use this tape somehow to get another acting job, you know.

48:37 And so if I do exactly what he's asking me to do, I won't I won't be able to watch it, you know. So you know, either it's a good or bad thing. I kind of stuck to my guns and I still tried to do my subtleties and all that, and I think it turned out perfectly fine. But that's an example of you know, in TV, they're like, no, bigger, bigger, bigger. It's you know, it's like a it's like a farce. It's like a melodrama. And I'm like, yeah, I don't. I don't think so. But that reminds me a little bit of what they expect on stage. So I will pass it on to David. All Right, thank you very much, Jonathan, Thank you, Charles, good seeing you again, good seeing you. Yeah, thank you, Charles. So a lot of my trust boats.

49:19 I've already asked you pretty much, a lot of the questions I had in mind, but so I just quickly wanted to ask when you did the role of Shark. Were you expecting to get a callback to do like Shock again, like in another TV series? TV series wasn't wasn't quite a reality at that point, because you know, nineteen eighty nine. I'm not sure exactly when the next generation started, but I don't think it was until like the mid nineties. Yeah, it actually started in eighty seven, did it really? Are you kidding? Yeah? I didn't. I totally blanked on that. You know, I kind of hope that I would get, you know, to do Sarik again.

50:05 I was very disappointed when mister Chariots of Gods got to do Sarrek in that movie. I can't remember what it's called, but you know, Ben Cross, Yeah, with the new generation of movies, so you know, when they cast Ben Cross who you know, I don't know. I mean, they weren't exactly getting star power in my opinion, because you know, he was he was kind of a B B movie actor at that point, but he did have the right facial stuff. But I would love to have gotten a call for that. That would have been amazing, you know, and then and then subsequent after that, you know, more actors that have played Sarak.

50:49 I'm like Damn. I didn't get that one either. But you know, I don't know how to get back on the radar. That's why I have to figure out. That's why I need you guys, get me back on the radar, man, you know, so that when they when they come up with another Stark, you know, especially the gray haired one that's you know, a little little older, little riper, they might think of me cool. So nice. Yeah, unfortunately that was all the questions I had. But okay, David, Yeah yeah, but I was really nice having you on the show, and I really appreciate you coming on and uh thank you. Yeah. Well, I gotta jump in real quick before Jim dismounts, because I you know, I'm I Jonathan. All my work that I'm familiar with you from is the Sarak, right, And I had no clue that you were just so freaking hilarious. I mean you are. You are hysterical, man, and you're just so.

51:46 You gotta you gotta see me ride a bike into the bushes. Yes please, I'm already sold. I'm I'm It's like I was all ready. For TikTok man. I was ready for TikTok. It just wasn't ready for me. That's all. Now. I I think you uh, you know, coming out of a retirement getting back into doing more film and TV work. I would so love to see you do comedy, man. I think it seems like that's that just seems like that's your thing. I mean, I was raised on Monty Python, raised on Monty Python and Benny Hill. Yeah. Yeah, because you got like you got the good rubber face, Gene Man. That's like the highest compliment I can think of.

52:29 Martin. Steve Martin is the other one that it actually gets me in trouble on commercials. When I auditioned for a commercial, I'll go for the callback and I'll be doing it and then they'll kind of look at each other and they go just like Steve Martin and and then and then I'm like, fuck, oh sorry, sorry, Jim. You can you can you can say that it's okay, sorry. Because in a commercial, that's that's distracting, you know what I mean. So, but there was a commercial I did for John Travolta movie that never came out where I did get to do my wild and crazy thing, but that that that was the movie was called The Experts. And I remember that picture. Yeah, I do. Yeah, yeah, depending to be Russians or whatever, right, or the Russian spies. Yeah, I remember.

53:17 All right. I think you're going to get a lot of work, is my prediction. I just think you are. You talked about that Vince Gilligan show that they're shooting in uh right now, Yeah, you should just drive out there finding who their casting director is and just. You know, and they and and what's so crazy is like nowadays they do the first audition self tape anyways, which is which is so bizarre to me, because does all. These thriller things right and horror X file stuffs to put comedy in there too, So it seems like you're you're a Vince Gilligan guy. Thank you. Yeah, if you get in front of them, they would cast you in the spot. That's my.

54:02 Oh my god. The first season I was rolling rolling with laughter every time he did that. Oh that's what you think, bitch? You know I was. So freaking funny. Well, I think I think good things are coming your way with thank you guys. I'm seldom wrong. So that one time. I have so much fun going to the conventions and meeting the fans and hearing their stories and their connection to Star Trek, and you know that that's the reason I do it, and I love I love it. Every time I've gone, I've always had a great time. Well, we're gonna be watching for you, brother, and again, it's just been a thrill to have you on here. And sorry I had to jump back in, but I was very excited just because I'm like, I'm so entertained by just watching Jonathan do his thing. I'm just like, oh, thank you, guys, thank you more stories. Keep going, Uncle Jim.

54:52 Back to you, sir, I will gently step behind the curtain. Well, I gotta say, you know they passed you up for dirty dancing. I mean I would have. I thought you were a shoe in for that one. Just because he's been doing ballet since he was four years old. They think he can dance exactly. Yeah. And if you're gonna do Shakespeare, we talked to Nicholas Meyer last week or two weeks ago to cling on. He said, cling on is the only way to do it, So you'd have to cling on if you want to do more Shakespeare. That's insane. And I just I just want to ask you one more thing. When you go to the conventions and you meet the fans. What what is one of the experiences you had with the fans at the conventions that really sticks in your mind as this is what starts, this is why Star Trek is Star Trek. Tough question, tough.

55:50 Question, Yeah, I got. I have to say, the first thing I thought of was a lot of a lot of them who are going through difficult times in their life, you know, whether it's divorcing or very serious medical conditions or medical conditions they were born with or whatever, and that and how much solace and comfort and love they have for the Star Trek lord, you know what I mean. And that that, frankly, was not something that I thought of when I, you know, went to my very first convention, but that it happens time and time again, and I'm just like, wow, you know, they really get a lot of comfort, you know, watching Star Trek and and understanding it, and that just blew me away. It still does.

56:42 And I just want to say before we go that for me, Star Trek five I think is the best Star Trek movie because it captures the essence of Star Trek. It feels like a TV show to me. You have the relationship with Kirk Spock and McCoy and their camping scenes, which are some of my face writs of the scene with McCoy and his father that you were talking about. It gets me every time I see it. I love the Klingons in the movie. They're so they're like biker dudes. Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack is phenomenal. And the fact that Lawrence Luckimbill isn't actually a villain like say con Or Chang. He's he's misled and he sees the air of his ways, you know, later on in the movie and tries to remedy that. So, you know, for me, Star Trek five really feels like an episode of Star Trek. It has it has all the all the parts that made Star Trek Star Trek. And that's why I love the movie.

57:41 And thank you so much for being I really really enjoy it, and I just wanted to tell you that. So will I see you all in August and well you'll probably. See Charles, Okay, Charles will probably be around. I'll be there, maybe not the whole show, but I will be there, all right. So thank you, Thank you so much, Jonathan for the guys. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. Good night, good night. All right, guys. So that was that was Sarah from Star Trek five The Final Frontier. A lot of fun. Huh. Yeah. He was great man, what is what a great personality and sense of humor and everything.

58:25 Not what I expected at all, Really engaging and great storyteller. So really good to have mine. Back to sitting next to him all weekend off and on the table the whole weekend. We were right, he was right next to our ship's table. Cool, excellent. Do you ever comes to Poilo, I would definitely go Seium. For sure. All right, guys, So we did the show a little bit backwards today, but we're going to jump in to do some fan shout outs right now. We're going to continue on and we're going to turn to Eric to get us started. You guys can go to our Facebook page, or you can go over to truck talkin dot com and there's a lot of places you can find out how to get mentioned in a future fan shout out.

59:11 So take it away, Eric, Yeah, Jim, I am always humbled by how much support we have all over the planet countries, so thousands and thousands of miles from here and people are just checking in with us, listening to our show and doing all sorts of stuff. So my first fan shout out this week goes out to Jose Manuel Casado Sanchez, who says he's a citizen of the universe but was born in Madrid, Spain. You know what, I'm a citizen of the universe too, sir. How about that we're basically brothers. So Jose Manuel Casado Sanchez, thank you so much for saying hello to s from Madrid, Spain. I cannot wait to go to your city. I have been to Spain, but I've only been to Barcelona and I have not made my way to Madrid yet. I plan to go there someday. Hello this week to James Hanson, who's checking in from Melbourne, Australia, sending us that Australian flag emoji, which I'm sure is what caught Jim's attention.

1:00:10 James Hanson, thank you so much for saying hello to us, and apply to you, sir. Also saying hello this week to Ferdy Raid who's from Metro Manila in the Philippines. Wow, we do have a ton of support from all of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and Ferdy. We really appreciate your support, and hopefully you're going to be listening to this in the future and you'll hear us shouting out to you, thank you so much for checking in with us. And last, but not least, on my list, i'd like to say hello this week to David VB who's saying hello to us from Belgium. That's right, Charles, who would you like to say hello to? Well, let me. Start off welcoming George el Sandfield from Arkansas, who's also a top fan.

1:00:56 So great to hear from you, Joyce. Welcome to Yima Heart from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And I wonder if Yerima knows how because Hal Brown's from southeastern Pennsylvania, so I got a couple of Pennsylvania's in there. And then I warm welcome to Timothy Brown from Seattle adjacent Washington, currently in Las Vegas. I think I might know who Timothy is, but we haven't seen him in a while. So David, who's on your list? Yeah, I would definitely like to say hello and thank you for listening to Don. Alexandra Grayshan from Portland, Oregon.

1:01:45 I've got a question for you. How's the water? Is it great? It's Rex flavored flavored. And the next one welcome would go to Greg Payne from Central Texas, and another welcome to Brian T. Coughlin from Charlotte, New York. And last time, my lash, welcome to Ryan J. Gushin from Detroit, Michigan, just north of the Canadian border. And speaking of the Canadian border, I'm sure Paul would love to spind his globe around, all. Right, I would love to. I would love to get to all different points of the globe that are different than where I am currently. Actually right, I'm get away with each day. I'm I'm more intrigued than the next.

1:02:38 So let's and you know, we all know that it is Erica, so adroitly put it at the start. We are an international community of fans and enthusiasts here in the Star Trek universe. And let's say hello to our good friend Robert William Graham in London, England, one of the great metropolis of our planet, certainly a place where there's much history there, So great dear from you, Robert, thanks for being a fan down in Southeast Asia. We're going to go to Jakarta, Indonesia and say hello to Paul bin Aka I hope I'm pronouncing your name correctly, Paul. Apologies if I'm not. Jakarta, Indonesia is where Paul hanks his hat and crossing many many axes of latitudes and longitudes, We're going to head back over to Italy, where our friend Alice con Felonieri is giving us the magical livelong and prosper sign there from Italy. Great dear from Alice.

1:03:34 I wonder what part of Italy Alice is residing in. And not too far down the road from Alice, we have our good friend Andreas Heilsberg who is saying hello to us from Schwarzenburg. Schwarzenberg is in Saxony's or mountains there in Germany. So wonderful, rustic, exciting part of the globe. To be sure, the German mountains are pretty spectacular, So wonderful to know and be reminded of that. We've got fans and the Star Trek enthusiasts all over the place. So good to know that we have those things in common. Back over to uncle Jim.

1:04:15 Why thank you so much, Paul. We'd like to say thank you and caplada Mike Smith, who's listening to us in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada, probably one of the locations of the Mega Bridge leading to Toronto, which was shown in an episode of Strange New World. I wonder if that's the one where they found Pellia hanging out in that antique store. I wonder. Anyways, thank you so much for okay, so thank you so much to Mike Smith. We also want to say thank you to how We Finkle, who's listening to us from New York, New York, The Crossroads of the Galaxy, the Big Apple.

1:04:56 Thank you for being a fan, Howie. We also want to say a couple on thank you to Dennis Cardin, who's in Hudson Valley region in New York. That's where he went to college. By the way, Hudson Valley. Thank you so much, Dennis. And uh, oddly enough our only top fan on tonight's list, which is odd. We want to say thank you to top fan Donna Runyon, who's listening to us in Maryland. And that wraps up our fan shout outs, and now it's time for our polls. You know me like no Win. You thought about the show, then we try.

1:05:39 To share your opinions with all of our minions out there because. They listen worldwide. So tell us just what you think. Get together, we will alter Canara and Robbie land An. All right, Eric, we have a couple of good poll questions here tonight. You want to get us started, I definitely do. In Star Trek Discovery's first season episode What's Past is Prologue, Michael Burnham brings Emperor Georgio into the Prime Universe. Do you agree with her choice? And I'm happy to say that one of the people who responded to this poll said they agree with Michael Burnham's choice, So there you go.

1:06:29 It's unanimous in my opinion. I mean, so as I remember, I think Michael Burnham brought her back because she felt like she would have a good sort of strategic mind to help beat the Klingons. And then, of course, you know, later on Georgio becomes the one to suggest that essentially the Discovery have this bomb that they sort of spore drive into the middle of Kronos to you know, threaten the planet with which then gets handed over to Laurel so she can threaten all of the other Klingon things. So I guess in a lot of ways, it took the mind of a Mirror Universe emperor to use that strategy with the idea that the Klingons only respond to threats and violence. Is that am I correctly interpreting that?

1:07:23 Well? I think that Michael Burnham felt I was feeling a tinge of guilt because Georgio died while they were on the Klingon ship and the Klingons ate her brain. And I think that she felt a tinge of guilt. And when she got to the Mirror Universe and had an opportunity to maybe rectify that, and Georgio was in the process of getting overthrown, she saw the opportunity to you know, bring her back and give her a chance that redemption, which which she did. So yeah, I think I think she made the right choice, myself, anybody else, all right, So.

1:08:04 Well, Jim was gonna Jim was going to say the same thing I watched. She was trying to redeem the loss of loss of Georgio in the Prime universe and when to make it up to her by bringing the Mirror in. Yeah, so her. So Michael Burnham's motivations for bringing her back are I think complicated and maybe a little bit self serving in my opinion, But uh, you know, it doesn't mean it was the wrong decision, and we did. Get a great redemption arc for that character too, So. Paul would say it was the right thing to do because without it we would have had no story. And yeah, there's no plot.

1:08:44 Well, I mean, it's a weird Paul question, because. It's like, you know, it's it's it's not exactly like an ethical conundrum or something, right that it's it's it's kind of you know, well, this is what drove the story because it was the plot anchor. So it's now, yeah, it's a psych of course. Well, we wouldn't have got to see her kick Lorca in the face standing behind her either, so that was cool. We do love to mention that. I know, Yeah, that is an awesome scene. All right, So what's our next poll question? Eric? In the Next Generation episode Best of Both worlds Riker receives a field promotion to captain and makes Commander Shelby his number one. Do you agree with his choice? And a scant ninety three percent of our responders agreed with this one and seven percent did not agree. And I can only assume that the seven percent that did not agree, you know, had some sort of personality issue with Shelby for whatever reason.

1:09:43 I don't like women. Similar was the smartest choice that Riker could have possibly made. Not only did she have amazing knowledge of Starfleet and a great strategic mind, and she's actually a pretty good engineer. She's a very strong person, and I think was actually a good counter to what can sometimes be Riker's uh is cavalierty award, his his cavalier nature and his ability to sort of like maybe go a little over the top on things, and Shelby's like, dude, you got to pay attention. Look look at me, Look at me. You got to pay attention. So I think absolutely, yes, yeah, I was under the assumption that Godfleet made Riker pick Shelby a number one.

1:10:31 I thought that was I think captain's I think captains always get to basically choose who their number one is, or at least certainly have significant influence over that. Yeah, it was. It was his choice. You had to make that, right, And it makes him look good because it's like, you know, it's a it's a sign of strong character that you're willing to uh to choose somebody that you may not like personally, but who you think does a better job, right, So it's it's a it's a it's a it's a good thing, right and the fact and she's also kind of threatening, right because she was out for his job from day one, right, So there's two strokes against her. But he still went with her just because he's not an insecure person and so he's not you know, he's not threatened by that. So it makes him it, you know, he lets to retain the high ground and showing that you know, you have to you know, have what it takes to uh, you know, to be a good captain and to you know, make make confident decisions regardless of what your personal feelings are.

1:11:27 So I think that leaves him looking pretty good. So good call yep, Well, I think that uh the line where Riker says, I need everybody where per card always counted on you, just right, there is the reason why he shouldn't have picked her, because the card he knows everybody intimately. So you want to shake that up a little bit, Maybe he should have had Maybe he should have picked wharf. Wharf would have gone in there all guns blazing, you know, or maybe data, maybe data would have been more analytical about his So I think that shaking things up a little bit and not giving the cutest an edge might have been a better choice.

1:12:10 But that's just my own film. Uncle Jim has just revealed that he was the seven percent vote. No there, sir, you've outed yourself on the podcast, because clearly, you know, clearly that is one human being. Is that seven percent? And that's seven percent? Is you? Sir? You have Elizabeth Danahey on the podcast, so she was awesome, absolutely awesome for sure. But I like to shake things up a little bit. Remember I like to start Truk five. So you know I'm an outlier, ill you. I haven't heard that before. I do not know that.

1:12:51 I go again. I've got to pay more attention time. That's that's what I do. I go against the grain and I stand my ground. All right, guys, So that's our polls for this week, and now it's time for our Star Trek Birthdays. That was not al song, all right. Every week we start off our Star Trek Birthdays by remembering those members of our Star Trek family who, sadly enough, are no longer with us, and for that we turned to Eric Jim.

1:13:34 This week, we're going to remember five members of our Star Trek community who have gone before us. The first is actor Andrew Bryne. He's the actor who played Souna in the Next Generation six season episode Frame of Mind, and also played Terrell in The Deep Space nine third season episode Life Support. Andrew appeared often on Broadway, soaring to recognition in the lead role of the Pulitzer Prize win play Look Homeward Angel, and in his role in the Academy Award winner movie The Miracle Worker from nineteen sixty two. But he's probably best known for his role as Wayne Donnelly in the television series Weird Science, and for portraying Confederate General Dick Garnett in the films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals.

1:14:23 But That's not it. He was also in nineteen eighty three's hit NBC mini series The as the evil visitor named Stephen, alongside, of course, Richard Hurd and Mobil Yashima. So Andrew Prime lost just a couple of years ago, back in October of twenty twenty two, at the age of eighty six years old. Happy birthday to Andrew. Happy birthday as well to Margaret Meg Gillespie Wiley. She's the actress who played the Keeper in the first pilot of the original series, That's right, the one with the Big Head. Wiley had the honor for portraying the very first villain to ever chronic logically appear on Star Trek, and over five decades would make around one hundred TV guest appearances, including shows like The Twilight Zone, Untouchables, Adam's Family, and The Fugitive. She can also be seen in a number of films, including Alfred Hitchcock's nineteen sixty four thriller Marnie and the nineteen seventy one cult action movie Vanishing Point. Happy Birthday to Meg Gillespie Wiley Happy Birthday as well to actor John Bloom.

1:15:29 John Bloom was the tall, yeah extremely tall actor who played the Behemoth alien in Star Trek six The Undiscovered Country. John was seven foot four inches tall. He actually made his feature acting debut in the nineteen seventy one B horror movie Gilla Versus Frankenstein, becoming the largest actor to play that legendary role of Frankenstein's monster. He followed this up with appearances in several more B movie horror flicks, and his first true venture from this genre was in nineteen seventy five's comedy Up Your Alley. This was followed in seventy nine by another horror feature, The Dark, in which he played the title role. But he's been in a ton of Basically, if you needed a super tall dude in the late seventies or early eighties, this was your guy. He was in eighty five's The Hills Have Eyes to eighty four, He's eighty four's Bachelor Party, Runaway Train, Harry, and the Henderson's all sorts of movies all over the place. Unfortunately, like many people of his size, he died way too early at the young age of fifty four years old in nineteen ninety nine. John Bloom, We miss him, a behemoth of a man. Happy birthday, John, Happy Birthday. As well to Mars du Say. She was the Emmy Award nominated actress who played Kara in the original series third season episode Spock's Brain. According to an audio interview on her official website, she did not watch her Star Trek episode until a fan sent her as tape in the

1:17:01 nineteen nineties. She made her film debut in nineteen sixty seven, portraying a or having a small role alongside Elvis Presley in a little movie called clam Bake you might have heard of, but she really became super popular for her performances on several American daytime soap operas, including Capital, Santa Barbara, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, and All My Children. That career lasted twenty years. Soap operas for twenty years, So Mars du say, I watched a lot of you as a child watching soapupas with my mom. So happy birthday to you, and we do miss you as well.

1:17:42 In last, but not least, on our remembrance list, I'd like to say happy birthday to Patricia Smith LaSelle birth name of Patricia Harlan Smith. She was the actress who played the role of an old looking doctor Kingsley, the young female doctor in her mid thirties turning old of horse being afflicted by accelerated aging. She had several TV guest appearances on shows like Studio One, My Favorite Martian, Mission Impossible, and Quincy m but she was a regular performer on The Debbie Reynolds Show and on The Bob Newhart Show, and in nineteen seventy four, she made an uncredited appearance in the unsold pilot for gen Ron Berry's proposed series Planet Earth. Of course, we know that the pilot also was the star Major Barrett ted Cassidy and one of my favorites, Diana Muldar. She also had a role in the epic nineteen seventy nine mini series Roots The Next Generation. Patricia Smith. Happy birthday to you, lost back in twenty eleven at the age of eighty years old, and that Folks does it for our remembrances this week, So I'm going to pass this flaming birthday candle back over to Charles.

1:18:56 Oh, thank you, Eric, Let's turn off. Definitely one of my favorites. A very happy birthday to Kirk Thatcher, associate producer and Star Trek four The Voyage Home and played the music blasting Punk on the Bus in the film. In twenty twenty two, he returned to as his Punk on the Bus character in Star Trek p Card episode Watcher Beyond the Wilma. Star Trek Thatctor has worked as a puppeteer, writer, and director for many projects in Jim Henson's Muppets. In fact, Somebody Last Night and Star Trek Club mentioned that Kathy McFadden did some work on the muppets with choreography, which I think would have been interesting.

1:19:49 A very happy birthday to Actually Hughes, actress who played Sabrina in Star Trek Voyder's Seventh is An Episode Endgame. Another good one here. A very happy birthday to Jerry O'Connell, an American actor who voiced Cammander Jack Marnson in Star Trek Lower Decks. He get married to Rebecca Ramaine, who played Dona Chin Riley in Star Trek Discovery, Star Trek's and Strange New Worlds. Ironically, both actors portray an XO in Star Trek Steven XO married to an EXO. A very happy birthday to far Ta Farantar, actress have betrayed Richard Rumba in Star Trek two thousand and nine and then ah, another good one. Very happy birthday to Andrew Robertson, actress who's best known Star Trek fan is betraying Ellen Garrick in DS nine A simple tailor and if you really want to hear some bits.

1:21:01 Good work. Newly did he write the book A stitch in time? He did the audio. He near rated the audio version of that book also, and that book is definitely worth hearing in his voice. Now, I'm going to pass his flaming candle that sort of burning on both ends. But I'll pass her to Paul. Thanks Charles. Yeah, Andrew Robinson, he's awesome. I don't know how many folks how long it's been since you watch your original Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood. I'm just thinking about that because it's getting a four K release next month. I'm pretty sure April one or the other. But Andie Robinson was like the zodiacular in that original Dirty Harry movie, and he is scary as hell. It's just he really went out there and and you know, was willing to look really unlikable.

1:21:54 The story was, once he did that dirty hairy roll, it was hard for him for a while to get a role. To get you played the role. Too, well. Yeah, It's just this is like you know, our guest just previously and Jonathan talked about, oh you they just wanted me to come into the room and look at me, right, you know, for you know, the Star Trek five audition. Right. I think it was one of those moments if Andy Robinson walks in the room back then, right, they're like, you know, I mean he was really just intense. I mean it was really intense in that movie, so it was probably cost him a lot of work. But how great that he built this tremendous second half career, you know, and especially on Star Trek. He was just you know, he did so much with that role, so much. I mean, he's a villain, he's a good guy. I mean, he's just it's a great character. And he found all these different nuances to play him in, uh, you know, from year after year of year. Just a remarkable performer. Happy birthday to Sherry Jackson. I love my Original series episodes like There's No Tomorrow and going back to season one, I think one of the greatest, you know, seminal episodes, what are the Little Girls Made Of?

1:23:08 Right? The first real android appearance on Star Trek, and Sherry Jackson played Andrea Right, who is deceptively the way she looks until you find out what's really going on underneath. Great performance, really unnerveck, I thought, really really cool. So Happy birthday to you, Sherry Jackson. Happy birthday. I guess we'll just keep it up with the original series here. Happy Birthday. Did David Frankum David Frankham in the third season original series episode is There in Truth No Beauty played Larry Marvick in that third season episode there, very cool episode. The first time we get reference to the Medusins, okay, was in that episode, Very very cool if you haven't seen it while. And it's a good performance, really really good performance from David Frankum there. He's just great, so very very cool, and we're just going to keep this original series train rollin here, friends, because I guess I just drew a bunch of aces this week, which is just great. Happy birthday to Andrea Drome, former actress and model who played Yeoman Smith, going all the way back to that original series first season second pilot if you Will, where no man has gone before, kind of a precursor to the Yeoman Rands character, if you will, right, but

1:24:41 very memorably portrayed. She's the one who's taken comfort from Gary Mitchell there at the Helm as they crossed the Galaxy's edge barrier. So very exciting stuff. But happy birthday to you, Andrea Drome. And a couple of luminaries coming down the road here. First of all, big fan of this guy. Happy birthday to the great Simon Pegg Okay, the hilarious Simon Pegg, who we of course are acknowledging for his work as Montgomery Scott in All of the jj Vers Star Trek Film, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond. Will there be another movie featuring that same group of characters to be still up in the air.

1:25:26 We still don't really know, but some great great work from Simon Peg. I envy anybody who has not seen the fantastic series of films that Edgar Wright has made that get referred to as the Cornetto trilogy, right, which brilliantly began with Sean of the Dead, one of the funniest movies you will ever in your life see. I just love that picture. And then they follow that up with another winner, Hot Fuck, which is like one of the greatest parodies of action movies I will ever see, and he is just hysterical. Simon Pegg is in Hot Fuzz.

1:26:09 He's in practically every scene in the movie, and he's just like cranking it up to eleven the whole time. He's great, and you'll be seeing him in just a couple more months because we also have Simon Pegg is a recurring cast member in the Mission Impossible film series with Tom Cruise where he pays Benji Dunn. And they got another one coming to close out that film series this May, which looks fantastic. So always cool. Simon Peg gets a lot of good work and is always delivers a good So happy birthday to you, sir. We're big fans of you here on the show. And I gotta just say one of the greats, one of the all time greats, the absolutely magnificent, wonderful eman being that is LeVar Burton friends, who of course we know for playing Geordie LaForge all throughout Star Trek the Next Generations since higher seven year run, but also played the same character in at least four Next Generation feature films that I can think of, and Voyager episode Timeless as well, which he also directed and also brought the character back for Star Trek. But cards so really amazing. Has done quite a bit of episode directing as well on Next Gen, several episodes of Deep Space nine, Voyager Enterprise. But this is one of the class acts of the industry, right, I mean, just absolutely amazing roots okay, which basically you know,

1:27:46 stopped contemporary television in its tracks for the nights that it was on the back in the day, which is going way back, dating ourselves all the way back here, because I mean original year for roots is what nineteen seventy seven. I think you know, some of us might have still been in high school at the time, but you know, I mean phenomenal work there reading Rainbow of course, where I think he influenced a generation after generation of young young readers coming up. It's done, just a ton of work, and it is a real bright light in terms of ethical, unfiltered, honest behavior across social media. We need more LeVar Burtons in this world, if you want my opinion, I think he's just a wonderful person and has always stood for things of value. So we salute you, LeVar Burton. If you ever have a spare night you're not doing anything for a couple hours, how about coming on this show, Oh man, that would be something and letting us just gush over you for a couple of hours and tell some stories. Is only you can tell them, because here you will find a home where you are appreciated, sir, and we have reverence for your work and hope you see a lot more of it. So happy birthday, and many many more to the great LeVar Burton. And with that, I believe my list has reached an end. And so

1:29:20 this is the time where you basically pour a bunch of one fifty one rum on your bat list, set it on fire, and toss it across the room to Uncle Jim's why. Thank you, Paul. I do have a couple of Klingons on my list, Oddly enough, I know that's hard to believe. The first one is from Star Trek six, by the way, and we are going to be talking to a Klingon from Star Trek six next week on the podcast. So you guys want to go out and watch Star Trek six and then go to truck talkin dot com and leave us your questions. So the first Klingon on my list is Matthias Hughes. He played General Stecks in Star Trek six The Undiscovered Country and there he is right there on the screen. Happy birthday and kapla, sa Matthias Hughes.

1:30:10 We also want to say happy birthday and kapla to Nancy Young Blunt. She's the actor who played Toleen in Voyager third season episode Displaced. But I'm mentioning her here because she played Kolana in the DS nine seventh season episode Once More Onto the Breach, and there she is right there as a klingon. So couplaw, and happy birthday to Nancy young Blood. And last on my list, not a klingon. We want to say happy birthday to Zach Gilligan. He played David Gentry in the Star Trek Voyager fifth season episode in the Flesh, but I think he's best known there he is as Billy from the Gremlins one and Gremlin's two with Gizmo. And there he is with little Gizmo. Happy birthday to Zach Gallagan. And that, my friends, wraps up our Star Trek birthday. And now it's time for some Star Trek news.

1:31:12 Priority one message from Starfleet coming in on Secure channel. Incoming transmission enter authorization code, command codes verified. Define parameters of program level nine authorization required, specifying parameters. Transfer updata is complete. A blank alert, A blank alert. All right, Eric gets our first Star Trek news story, So take it away, Eric Jim. I'm excited to talk about this story, not only to read it, but to chat about it a little bit afterwards. The Star Trek franchise has made two point six billion dollars for streaming services. Star Trek Section thirty one premiere to on January twenty fourth on Peramount Plus. Originally planned as a spinoff series from Star Trek Discovery, it was reimagined as a movie to be released on Paramount Plus, making this the first Star Trek movie to premiere since Star Trek Beyond in twenty sixteen. Parrot Analytics streaming economic system shows how the long running Star Trek franchise has been a reliable money maker not only for Paramount Plus, but other streaming platforms around the globe. From quarter one, twenty twenty until quarter three twenty twenty four, our model estimates that shows and movies in the Star Trek franchise have generated over two point six billion dollars in subscriber revenue for major streamers globally. Star Trek Media is soaring to new heights in a medium that other shows and

1:32:43 movies can often struggle to find success in money success on streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime and Hulu is not guaranteed, so the high numbers the Star Trek franchise has been able to amass over the last four years is impressive, to say the least. Now, I don't have any sort of context for this. I don't know how that compares to other shows or other franchises. For example, you know how much money has Star Wars earned streaming platforms over the last four years or so. But what I will say is two point six billion dollars sounds like a lot of money to me, and it makes me wonder why, you know, why they don't ride that out as much as possible, giving us, you know, for example, more seasons of lower decks, or for example, not selling the Prodigy franchise, or you know, little things like this seems to me like, not only is Star Trek awesome, but it's also a successful money maker. So I don't know there's two point six billion dollars a lot of money anymore.

1:33:46 I can't tell it's a good chunk. But I think I think what they I mean. It's it's hard to saving on the outside, right, because we can only really just make assumptions, right, But I think that it seems to me what they're doing is they're trying to consolidate their eggs in you know, one bigger basket is the impression I get, right, I mean, you know, I think it's a really good sign that they are doing what they're doing with Starfleet Academy. I mean, I can't say, for you know, speak to the quality to show yet, but just the fact that they're you know, saying, Okay, we're going to sort of siphon off some characters from Discovery, right, and it's kind of in that same universe, but we're going to hire like really expensive a list talent, right, I mean, you know, Holly Hunter. I mean, that's amazing, right, And they've got a pretty good cast put together there, and a couple of familiar faces from you know, different aspects.

1:34:43 I think that bodes well. And I think they've already renewed Strange in Worlds for a fourth season. I'm pretty sure beyond what we've already seen. So, I mean, I think they're willing to really bet on those tent poles to really cold things together long term, and I think they're cutting off the ones that they don't and perform as well. It's a weird choice, you know, in some ways, just too you'd think that given the perception the Discovery has, you know, I was kind of like frankly surprised that they would continue to use Discovery characters to launch a new show, right. Tilly in particular is kind of an odd, surprising choice, given that she's not exactly you know, I think she's fine, but there's a rancorous aspect of the fan community that's not super high on her, right, So it's kind of a bold choice to continue on with some of those characters, you know. So we'll see what happens, right, I mean, but I think they figure, you know, I think it's easy they make weird choices over there at Paramount, and I think that it's probably easier for them say, oh, lower decks Prodigy, that's kid stuff, right, and let's just get rid of that. And I think a lot of times the executives making these decisions don't intimately know the material, all right, They just looking at the bottom line.

1:35:58 Yeah, I think to go on that shit. Theory is that they may have made that much money, but they probably spend most of that just making new shows and hiring actors like polishing. So I think, yes, two points what six billion is a lot of money, but just imagine how much they're actually spending every year. So that's my take on that. Yeah, I mean they've that's mean and you have to break it down. It's like, that's the number they gave us, but does that represent your profit? Is that factor in production costs and marketing and all those things like that? We don't really know, right, It's just they release a number that sounds good. But but when you break it apart, like what is it actually saying to us?

1:36:42 Right? And how does it you know, you want to sort of see it, like you know, Eric was implying, right, like, okay, holding me up Mandalorian season by season? You know, what are the equivalent numbers for a show like that, right, for like a show like you know Penguin that Jonathan was talking about on HBO, right, which is an amazing performance. He's absolutely right, it's just unbelievable. If you haven't checked it out yet, it's just nuts. But yeah, it's just so I don't know what it means really, but it's just you know, they're still going but I I, you know, well it's too early to say. You know, we're going to get some strange new worlds. And I have a lot of faith that that will be a crowd pleaser because just because they got renewed so quick, you know, they didn't wait until the premiere of season three to renew it. They renewed it right away. You know, Starfleet Academy too soon to say, friends, we don't know yet until we've seen it, how that's going to do. You know, optimistic though, because you know, they got some they got some They got some big hitters on that.

1:37:40 Cast well, and I hope they just continue to push the ball forward, you know. I uh, as much as I love Star Trek from the nineties and the two thousands and all that sort of stuff, you know, there's no denying that those three shows that were available at that time all have a very similar flavor to them. And I'm not sure that they pushed the the envelope much, you know. I mean, they're all fantastic and there's some great storytelling in there. I felt like Star Trek Discovery really pushed the envelope and you know, took some risks, and I still believe in twenty years people will see it differently than they see it now. I feel like Lower Decks, you know, took some risks, gave us our first real animated show that kind of was made for adults.

1:38:22 For Star Trek, everybody was like, how can you make a comedy about star Trek? Well they did it. They did it really well. So I'm hoping that Starfleet Academy and shows beyond there kind of start to push the limits even more. Strange New Worlds to me, feels so familiar. I think that's why people love it. You know. It doesn't doesn't feel limit pushing to me right now. But maybe maybe it'll become that way. I don't know. Yeah, but it's it's like, what did Jonathan just say our guest a few minutes ago, right, and he was talking about what do you what do you like? When Jim asked him, right, you know, what do you what do you take away from you know, the fan community? Right? And he deserved on the fact that people find it very comforting. Yeah, right. You know It's it's like if you're going through a hard time, right, I do it. Right.

1:39:05 If I'm going through like where like the world isn't crazy, I'm going to go watch a original series episode or. Next jen episode, the Final Frontier exactly. We all have the things that we gravitate towards, right, And it's like, Okay, I have certain feelings I got when I watch that I still get those feelings when I watch that stuff. It's great, but like you know, like Eric is saying, right, deep Space nine to a lesser degree voyager to a way lesser degree enterprise, they're very much adhering to the formula that next gen is set in place, especially Deep Space nine. I think Deep Space nine push harder against the edge of those formula. You know, they're saying, let's make more episodes like roll erin all right, I mean, I think that's what you know, the ethos that Deep Space nine had. But you know what's next, right, We don't want to keep seeing iterations of strange new worlds forever, iterations of you know, discovery forever, please, right, not in the cookie cutter way that you know that sometimes we see something fresh, a fresh point of view where it doesn't look like something we've seen before, right, I think that's what you know. I'm with Eric there.

1:40:16 I'd love to see something from a new set of creative folks that has a different perspective and feels a little bit raw. The people at Paramount made a big mistake because when when CBS All Access first came out, which is what it was before it was Paramount plus remember, guys, they told us new Star Trek every Thursday. I remember that promise. We never quite got there. I think we got forty eight weeks in a row of new Star Treks once only once. And I think that they they started cutting shows without thinking about what they were doing. They should have staggered them more because I think, you know, how long have we waited for Strange New Worlds a year and a half, two years for the next season, and Starfleet Academy we might see at the end of twenty twenty five, the beginning of twenty twenty six, and that's it for Star Trek. And I think they could have staggered things a little bit. They didn't have to cancel well, they didn't have to do what they did to Prodigy.

1:41:18 They didn't have to cancel lower decks, they didn't have to cancel Discovery. Uh. They just went on a spree and just cut everything without looking at the bigger picture and maybe stretching it out a little bit so that Star Trek fans had something. And maybe they were yeah, maybe they were under contract. That'sh why they kind of stopped and had to get rid of Prodigy. I don't know, it makes no sense to me. Yeah, well, I know is I'm happy to go without for like six months or eight months, right, because I don't want Star Trek to have to be on every week if it's if it's not good, right, if it's mediocre episodes and filler writing, I don't want it. I'd rather I'd rather have like, you know, less episodes per season.

1:42:02 Give me five episodes a season if they're really kick ass and good, right, But I don't want like fifteen twenty episodes of TV per season when you know two thirds of them suck and are unmemorable. I don't. I'm like, you know less, Better make me wait, make me wait two years, and then give me a really good season of like six episodes. I'll be way happier than if I get you know, Star Trek every Thursday for three years. And I can't even remember half of those episodes because they were kind of just you know, cranking them out sausage style. So we always better to wait. You've got our next story here, So all right, doc. Let's talk about new stuff because we were just chatting strange new worlds, right, and we'll find out where it's all pointing towards at least as far am from a in your closet perspective. Right after season three of Star Trek Strange New Worlds, which is yet to air, let's put our context in here. The next new series in the franchise is the future tense show Starfleet Academy, set after the events of Star Trek Discovery season five in the year thirty one ninety one. So we'll still way off there in the future where your nascells are just kind of drifting along beside you. They aren't really attached to your ship, right, So we're still off in that universe, right Starfleet Academy, we'll follow a new batch of Starfleet Hoefels and its TV series that will be set both on Earth and naturally out there in space. The final Frontier,

1:43:34 featuring the turn of Tilly, Mary Wiseman and Reno tig Notaro from Discovery, means that esthetically speaking, the show will likely carry with it the visual continuity from that era of Star Trek. And yet, even between Discovery season three and twenty twenty, in season four and twenty twenty one, Starflett made its Starfleet made its uniforms more colorful, and it appears that with Starfleet Academy, the uniforms might get rebooted again. Well, that should come as no surprise. Recently, cast members of Starfleet Academy celebrated a rap production on the show, and in doing so, gave us a glimpse of what could be part of the new Starfleet uniform.

1:44:14 Starfleet Academy cast member Zoey Steiner celebrated the rap of the Starfleet Academy shooting by posting photos of herself and what appears to be a class jacket. Let's see it, David, we do not have that photo, but that is okay, we have it. I'm just changing every six seconds. There's no way to stop it. Here on the Academy Awards. We're very you know. Oh, there we are the star Trek stage, Starfleet Academy. I think it's the next one. There we go. I'm going to pause for dramatic effect, like William Shanner, because we want to see that class jacket.

1:44:55 And there's who that is. She's twelve, whoever she is? Maybe that's Zoe Steiner, sure, whatever, whatever, whatever, youngsters, Okay, give me. You know, Paul Giamatti, I'm all about Paul Giamatti, right, I'm like, yeah, Okay, an adult on star Trek. I'm way more into that. But I know it's Starfleet Academy. They're young. We're getting there. There she is, she's got her Like Pennant, I'm looking for this picture I saw on the internet though the jacket. Well, we'll get there, We'll get there. I will continue. I gave you one. Forget that. Zoey Steiner wrote, that's encouraging. That's a wrap on Starfleet Academy Season one. Beyond grateful to have had this huge experience alongside my Starfleet fam. It's easily been one of the most challenging and fulfilling things I've ever done on both the creative and a personal level. Fellow cast member Bella Shepherd did the same, writing, wow, oh wow, sad softly out of there we go. That's the picture that I've been seeing out there with the the emblem patch on the on the jacket. I think that is Bella Shepherd and wearing the same jacket that Steiner rocked. Gave us a close up view of what appears to be a newly revamped version of the famous Starfleet Delta insignia.

1:46:15 There we go. In terms of canonical context, this kind of makes sense. In Discovery season three, we learned that Earth had broken away from the Federation, Starfleet no longer operated out of Earth in the thirty second century. By the end of season four, Earth was back in the Federation, though, And now with Starfleet Academy coming, we've learned that this will be the first time in an at least a century, that Starfleet Academy is back on Earth, specifically in San Francisco. The series itself is filmed in Toronto, and the Starfleet Academy set itself would be the biggest single set in Star Trek history. Oh good, because you know that'll help. With Starfleet Academy coming sometime later in twenty twenty five or twenty twenty six, the star franchise will technically be going into a new future beyond the canon of Discovery.

1:47:04 But it seems possible that when it comes back to the look of Starfleet, this show might end up feeling down right retro. Hmm interesting. Not sure who wrote that. It was definitely not me, just making that clear, but yeah, so we'll see. As apparently a large red truck features prominently in Starfleet Academy, judging from what I'm seeing here, and that the large red truck is a potential plot point. I don't know if it's a Klingon shuttle craft under disguise or something, but gosh, we'll just have to wait and see. So coming soon to a TV streamer near you. I don't know how we do it on time, Uncle Jimmy, got time for the your next story.

1:47:47 It's been really we are going to get two seasons a Starfleet Academy. Oh great, so they are. They finished wrapping one and they already approved it for season two. So we will get two seasons of Starfleet Academy, which is good twenty episodes. So that's something to look forward to. And as I said, it's either going to be the end of twenty twenty five or the beginning of twenty twenty six. We don't quite know yet that way. And do we know that there will still be civilization in twenty twenty six? Do we are we feeling confident about that? Yeah, we might not get around to seeing it. We might be watching it from the Ukraine or maybe who knows where we'll be, but yeah, will. Glorious Russian allow for it? Dis still be willllow for television.

1:48:30 Okay, So anyways, let me see, I have a story here? Do I not? I think I do. Yes, I do have a story. So you guys have heard of Friday the thirteenth, right, Yeah, this is an old This is a story that I had on the back burner that David keeps saying, what are we gonna do that? When are we gonna do that? Well, we're gonna do it right now. Oh, Starfleet legend plays horror's most iconic mother. One of the subjects I have passionately written about before is the unexpected joys you may discover when you go back and rewatch a bad film. For example, when I recently checked out the infamous remake of the horror classic, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not a visitor played Pamela Vorhees in the two thousand and nine Friday of the Thirteenth. If you aren't aware, she is best known as playing the Bajoran terrorist turned girl boss in the seminole series star Trek Deep Space nine.

1:49:29 If you already watched a movie and don't remember seeing on a visitor in the most recent Pride of the Thirteenth film, it's because she has a very abbreviated cameo appearance. The movie tries to cram several bits of iconic Jason Vori's lore into a single story, so that means we get a brief flashback at the beginning that basically recreates the ending of the first Friday of the thirteenth. Accordingly, our favorite star trek Icon played Pamela Vories, a surprised killer of the original franchise Outing who gets her head cut off fire Wood v victim who becomes our first final girl. Another reason why it's so easy to forget on a Visitor appeared in Fire of the Thirteen is that the movie follows up her flashback sequence with an extended cold opening. We basically get introduced to an entirely different cast of young characters who are obsessed with sex, drugs, and weed, and they get systematically murdered by Jason. Sadly, we don't get to see non a visitor flexer significant acting chops after the flashback sequence. After all, getting her chop her head chopped off as soon as the movie begins doesn't leave room much else. However, as a USD Space nine fan, I wish that this movie was a proper remake of the original write down of Pamler Voorhees being revealed as the killer. Very few people could match the performance of the original Pam actor Betsy Palmer. But Visitor is a good Indie Space nine and I'm confident she could have carried the entire film. And there she

1:51:02 is on the screen. And that wraps up our show this week. Guys, what do you think. Did you have a good time talking with Jonathan? Yeah? He was great. Yes, Yeah, good guy, very engaging, very engaging guy. A lot of fun. Next week we're going to be talking to David Orange, who played the sleepy kling On that was guarding Rua Pente and so he'll be with us as well. And yeah, so that wraps up our show. Guys. I had a really good time. Jonathan was great. I had a lot of fun. I want to say thank you so much to Paul for hanging out and trek talking with us tonight. Thank you, Paul, thank you, and thank you so much to Eric for hanging out and trek talking with us tonight. Thank you so much, Eric.

1:51:45 And thank you so much to Charles for hanging out and trek talking with us. Thank you, Charles, Thank you. Jim. Always fun and Thank you so much. To David for hanging out and Trek talking with us and being the miracle worker of the show. Thank you, David. You're welcome here, really fun and I'm your most excellent host. Uncle Jim saying everybody please stay safe and be good to each other. Star Trek fans are the best fans. Tailoring frequencies are closed. Good night, everybody, Good. Night all stags. I'm ready for departure, sir. Some problem right, I'm just hoping this isn't the usual way omissions will go, sir. Oh, no, number what actually most will be much more interesting, said she.

1:52:37 Wats out there, engage