Doohan Family Pictures

Chris Doohan, son of the late great James Doohan (aka Scotty), has provided TrekMovie.com with a few family photos that was taken on location for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and the premiere of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (12/5/91). To view the remaining pictures of the cast and crew of the Enterprise click here.

Designing the Bat'leth

In an interview with Crushable, Star Trek Visual Effects Producer and Supervisor (now on Chuck) Dan Curry, discusses his career including his hand in designing the now iconic Klingon weapon the Bat'leth. Below are a few questions, the full interview can be found here. (via TrekMovie, which also discusses weapons latest pop culture appearances on Big Bang Theory and Chuck)

So you do Visual Effects? Are you the dude who makes people blue and blows thing up?
The general public confuses public confuses special effects and visual effects. Visual Effects is combining elements photographed or created separately digitally into a new cinematic reality. This may involve the use of blue or green screen, miniatures, matte paintings, or computer-generated images. Compositing may be done in camera, on an optical printer, or on a computer using various compositing softwares. Special Effects, also known as Mechanical Effects and Practical Effects, refers to work done live on set and includes, but is not limited to pyro (fire and explosions), wire work (actors hanging on wires), special doors and moving set parts, water effects, smoke, etc. Frequently visual effects and special effects work together when their combined skills are needed to create an illusion.

And of course you designed bat’leth (pictured) for the “Rightful Heir” episode of Star Trek: TNG. I don’t think there’s a person alive who doesn’t remember that episode.
I had been imagining this weapon for a long time. I made a foam core version bat’leth. I went to Rick Baker [Star Trek's makeup artist] and said we need something unique, fresh. I showed him this thingI wanted to design something ergonomically appropriate. Dennis Madalone, our stunt coordinator, at first wasn’t cool with the idea. Then he became an evangelist convert after showed him what I had in mind.

It was modeled after a Chinese fighting crescent. Now it’s become one of the iconic images associated with the show. Even last week i got an email from some guy showing video of him demonstrating it.

Details on Star Trek: Federation Series Proposal

Trek Movie has posted a look at the idea of a new TV series called Star Trek: Federation that never got pitched due to the decision to re-launch the franchise with JJ Abrams. The series proposal was initiated by Bryan Singer (X-Men) and written by Robert Meyer Burnett and Geoffrey Thorne. The core thrust of the series is it takes place in year 3000 when "Utopia as a goal is like the fire in a nuclear engine. Utopia in practice is stagnation; its dry rot; eventually its death. Which is precisely where we find the United Federation of Planets a few centuries after the last Age of Discovery."

The concept is around a 600 year leap forward in the Star Trek universe that has humans declining, Vulcans united with Romulus, Klingons, Bajorians and Cardassians using mystician and religion in new and unexpected ways with the Ferengi merging as a major power. The result is a future that isn't quite Federation versus everyone else but a mixture of politics that has to deal with a new threat called "The Scourge" that an old and decayed Starfleet is not currently capable of defending the universe against. At least until a Starship Enterprise and a Kirk enter the scene. The full details of many of the characters and the first few episodes can be found here.

The overall concept strikes me as one of the most ambitious Star Trek ideas put to the table yet, far outstripping Deep Space Nine in a wiliness to explore the darker side of the Star Trek universe and the complexities with acknowledging the "grays" that we truly live in. It is a concept that probably would have angered long time Star Trek fans but that in itself is probably a good thing as the franchise's storytelling formula was clearly pass its prime by the time Enterprise entered the scene. That series tried to mix it up by season four but by then the irreparable damage was done. This concept would actually make for a fantastic Star Trek book series but even that is sadly on the decline so the odds of this concept or anything remotely similar reaching the light of day is highly unlikely. Which is our loss.

Star Trek Coming to Netflix in July

TrekMovie is reporting that Star Trek will hit Netflix this July as part of the deal they signed with CBS Studios in February. The deal has already kicked in with The Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, Frasier and other shows arriving on the service. Once completed, Netflix will stream every episode of every Star Trek film to date from The Original Series straight through Enterprise. The current release plan is July 1st for TOS, TNG, Voyager and Enterprise with October 1st for DS9. Not sure why that series is getting delayed.

Orci Talks Sequel Script Plans

While at Wondercon, Star Trek 2 writer Roberto Orci fielded a few questions about the script for the sequel that he and his writing partner Alex Kurtzman has been working on. He mentions listening to fan feedback that could be incorporated into the script, thoughts on some of the critism and more. It depends on the article but it seems the script is still being worked on, not sure if that means a draft has been turned in or not. Below are the key highlights:

From Coming Soon:

"Everyone said [Kirk] is too young to become Captain," he explains, "So maybe in the next movie, somebody goes, 'Man, you sure became Captain young and fast.' You start to incorporate people's opinions... If it's organic to the story and you find someone who doesn't think too highly of Kirk because he maybe skipped a few steps, that's maybe a fun thing to consider. That comes from a fan reaction and maybe gives you a story point."

"[Fans] wanted more character time with everybody," he adds, "and, because that was an origin story for 'Star Trek,' everyone had to come in at a certain point. Now everyone is going to be there from the beginning, so they're going to get that. Everyone sure hated engineering. They thought it looked like a brewery, which it was. I'll pass that on to J.J. [Abrams] and see what he says."

Star Trek Attraction Planned for Spain

TrekMovie is reporting that a Paramount theme park in area around Murcia, Spain will have a Star Trek themed attraction when it opens in 2015. The exact details are not known, only "...that Paramount has given a license to the developers, but the project is being financed locally in Spain (and financing has not been completed)." Here is a brief description of some of what the planners are thinking. A few more details about the theme park can be found at TrekMovie.

This zone [Future Plaza] submerges visitors into the fantasies of Star Trek, which promises total immersion, action and adventures awaiting in the form of the most advanced integration technology and special effects. Visitors can participate in a spectacular 4D battle environment in the War of the Worlds, fighting off alien invaders using the most advanced movement simulators which exist.