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Nov 17 | Originally hired as co-executive producer to help with the second half of the show's first season, Kevin Murphy has now taken the reins of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel on Syfy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He now serves as an executive producer along with Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and Jane Espenson and oversees the day-to-day functions of the show.

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Nov 12 | Star Trek star Zachary Quinto is loosely attached to star in the romantic dramedy Whirligig, reports Risky Business.Quinto would play the lead role in the independent Canadian film, which is aiming to shoot early next year. The movie centers on a man who, in a misguided attempt to woo an older woman, befriends the woman's adopted son.Chaz Thorne is directing the pic, based on a screenplay by Michael Amo, creator of the Canadian supernatural series "The Listener."

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Nov 11 | The CNS Foundation, is hosting an on-line charity auction at www.charitybuzz.com.   One of the items they are auctioning is a signed movie poster of the new Star Trek movie which has all the cast members and writers.  The president of our organization is Carol Abrams, JJ's mother,  and she arranged for the donation from Bad Robot Production Company.  J.J. Abrams is also a major donor to their organization. The funds raised will go to help find a cure to neurological disorders in children.  The auction link is here.

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Nov 10 | Candice Bergen, Charles Lisanby, Don Pardo, Gene Roddenberry, Tom and Dick Smothers and Bob Stewart have been selected as the next inductees into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a Jan. 20 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture, changed television for the better and entertained us royally while doing so," TV Academy Chairman-CEO John Shaffner said. More info at the Hollywood Reporter

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Nov 08 | Unreality-SF.net has interviewed Star Trerk author James Swallow about some of his upcoming projects. He talks about Titan: Synthesis and Seven Deadly Sins: The Slow Knife, as well as some forthcoming Doctor Who and Stargate stories.

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Stardates Calendar

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Feature Story

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Four Classic STAR TREK Novels Reissued for Franchise's 40th Anniversary

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By BWilliams / 05:10, 14 October 2006 / Reviews - Books

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It's hard to believe that over the past 25-30 years, literally hundreds of STAR TREK novels have been released by Pocket Books. Initially a series of original novels focusing on Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise, furthering the original five-year mission and exploring the events after the first feature film, Pocket Books has expanded its tapestry with numerous original novels; novelizations of TV episodes and films; crossover tales; miniseries; young adult novels; original series such as IKS GORKON, TITAN, NEW FRONTIER, and VANGUARD; and electronic novel releases including the STARFLEET CORPS OF ENGINEERS. Many of the novels have repeatedly hit many bestseller lists and elevated its writers into superstar status.

Now Pocket Books has gone back into its archives and reissued four of its most popular and well-received tales considered commercial and critical classics in the STAR TREK expanded universe. The novels reissued are STRANGERS FROM THE SKY by Margaret Wander Bonanno, VULCAN'S GLORY by TOS' story editor D.C. Fontana, FEDERATION by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, and THE ENTROPY EFFECT by Vonda N. McIntyre.

STRANGERS FROM THE SKY, originally issued in 1987, tells a tale within a tale amid the framework of a fictional novel chronicling mankind's first contact with Vulcans in the mid-21st century. As Bonanno points out, while some of the details seemingly conflict with STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, released nine years afterwards, the novel doesn't so much conflict with filmed canon as it complements the events. During the mid-21st century, an Earth vessel comes across a Vulcan starship, and buried deep within that contact, Admiral James T. Kirk begins having visions of his involvement not only in the 21st century but also in the 23rd century as well. Further complicating matters is the involvement of his former first officer Gary Mitchell and ship's psychologist Elizabeth Dehner (from "Where No Man Has Gone Before") in the contact. Now the question comes: how can Kirk unravel this Gordian knot in time and keep events flowing? Bonanno masters her work and her blend of strong characterization and tight plotting in this classic.

VULCAN'S GLORY, first issued in 1989, takes us back in time to the mid-23rd century, when a young Spock signs aboard for his first mission on the U.S.S. Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. As Spock battles a number of internal conflicts between his heart and his duty to Starfleet, Pike leads a team to uncover a sacred Vulcan artifacts, leading to even more unnerving secrets that will change Spock's life and define who he becomes in later years. Even after all these years, Fontana, in her first original TREK novel, still commands a complete knowledge of and relationship with her characters as she did during the Original Series' production, exploring new character depths and personalities not seen in the classic 79. Along the way, Fontana also gives us a glimpse of a young Montgomery Scott, also on his first Enterprise mission as well.

FEDERATION, originally issued in 1994, is a grand epic that spans the centuries of the STAR TREK universe. As with STRANGERS, it gives us an alternate look at the backstory of Zefram Cochrane that seemingly conflicts with FIRST CONTACT but also complements the film as well. Across the centuries, a madman out for vengeance seeks to claim Cochrane aboard two generations of Enterprises, under both Kirk's and Picard's commands. Of course, at the time of its original publication, GENERATIONS had yet to be released, and we had yet to know of Kirk's final fate or of his involvement with Picard, but FEDERATION offers us glimpses into the origins of the STAR TREK universe as we know it. The Reeves-Stevenses know their history well.

Finally, THE ENTROPY EFFECT was originally issued in 1981 as the first original novel from Pocket Books. In McIntyre's classic, Spock must go through time to prevent the murder of Captain Kirk and the destruction of the universe as we know it. THE ENTROPY EFFECT also gave us our first definitive answer to one of the more nagging questions in the TREK universe, though it would be another ten years before it was officially confirmed in THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY that Sulu's first name is Hikaru.

Pocket Books has done a very good thing by reissuing four of its most critically and commercially successful entries in the STAR TREK novel line. I found myself devouring and enjoying these tales when they were first issued, especially STRANGERS and FEDERATION - reissued, I still do. If you've not experienced them at all, give them a read!



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First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
By: McCoy666 (Odo's file, contact) @ 20:20:15 on Oct 14, 2006

Quote "STRANGERS FROM THE SKY, originally issued in 1987, tells a tale within a tale amid the framework of a fictional novel chronicling mankind's first contact with Vulcans in the mid-21st century. As Bonanno points out, while some of the details seemingly conflict with STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, released nine years afterwards, the novel doesn't so much conflict with filmed canon as it complements the events. During the mid-21st century, an Earth vessel comes across a Vulcan starship, and buried deep within that contact, Admiral James T. Kirk begins having visions of his involvement not only in the 21st century but also in the 23rd century as well. Further complicating matters is the involvement of his former first officer Gary Mitchell and ship's psychologist Elizabeth Dehner (from "Where No Man Has Gone Before") in the contact. Now the question comes: how can Kirk unravel this Gordian knot in time and keep events flowing? Bonanno masters her work and her blend of strong characterization and tight plotting in this classic.

FEDERATION, originally issued in 1994, is a grand epic that spans the centuries of the STAR TREK universe. As with STRANGERS, it gives us an alternate look at the backstory of Zefram Cochrane that seemingly conflicts with FIRST CONTACT but also complements the film as well. Across the centuries, a madman out for vengeance seeks to claim Cochrane aboard two generations of Enterprises, under both Kirk's and Picard's commands. Of course, at the time of its original publication, GENERATIONS had yet to be released, and we had yet to know of Kirk's final fate or of his involvement with Picard, but FEDERATION offers us glimpses into the origins of the STAR TREK universe as we know it. The Reeves-Stevenses know their history well."

That awful First Contact movie and that abysmal Enterprise series screwed up continuity already set in these books. Federation is the REAL history of the Star Trek Universe, and I don't know why it couldn't be followed.


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  • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
    By: GreginWA (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 14:02:37 on Oct 15, 2006 | Edit History (1)

    Because the books are not, nor ever have been, considered canon by the people who produce filmed Star Trek. It's that simple. Even Roddenberry himself classified the books and graphic novels as merely glimpses into what adventures the Enterprise crew COULD have had.


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    • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
      By: McCoy666 (Odo's file, contact) @ 15:37:56 on Oct 16, 2006

      "Because the books are not, nor ever have been, considered canon by the people who produce filmed Star Trek. It's that simple. Even Roddenberry himself classified the books and graphic novels as merely glimpses into what adventures the Enterprise crew COULD have had."

      Well, they should, seeing as how the books are written 969,672,359 times more intelligently than the last four movies and last two series. The people who write them do research and follow canon. Berman and Braga couldn't even follow their own canon.


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    • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
      By: GustavoLeao (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 14:53:52 on Oct 15, 2006

      Well, I can tell you that novels, comics and animated episodes are part of my PERSONAL Star Trek canon.

      Gustavo

      --------

      TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor

      gl2000@uol.com.br


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      • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
        By: GreginWA (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 16:21:58 on Oct 15, 2006

        Good for you. Just don't bitch & moan when the producers don't.


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        • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
          By: Mr. P (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 05:45:30 on Oct 16, 2006

          I have always wondered (and, kinda wished) if a revised, reissue was possible for Federation (and for the other books that have been "unwritten" thanks to on-screen canon). Keeping the core of the story, but changing a few elements to jive with STFC and ENT.

          I'd imagine an author would consider his or her (or, their, in the case) work finished, but it's nice to dream of how the story of Federation and the story of STFC could gel... I happened to really like both stories!

          --------

          ---
          "Cheerleader... So and So... What's Her Face... The Ugly One! TEEN GIRL SQUAD!!!"


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          • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
            By: GreginWA (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 06:36:52 on Oct 16, 2006

            It doesn't bug me at all that the two stories don't jive. I thought "Federation" was an excellent story (I personally enjoyed the Colonel Green storyline). However, I have a big enough imagination and I'm a smart enough guy to be entertained by these books even if they aren't canon. Even when I read that book when I was 19 I knew it wasn't canon. But that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story.


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            • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
              By: GustavoLeao (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 07:43:30 on Oct 16, 2006

              I consider the expanded universe as official as filmed Trek. As someone said at the BBS, the concept of a fictional series' canon versus its apocrypha has been around for generations (it's an ongoing debate in Sherlock Holmes fandom, for one); but it was Richard Arnold, acting on Gene Roddenberry's instructions (or at least his interpretation thereof), who first began treating Trek canon as something that was defined in terms of what it excluded or forbade and that was decided by an official authority that monitored and judged all Trek-universe creations for conformity. So it was he who started the practice of treating the Trek universe in terms of canon vs. non-canon as an overriding issue. And even though he's been gone for 15 years and his "canon policy" ceased to be binding the moment he was shown the door, sadly a great many fans operate under the assumption that Paramount still adheres to and enforces that policy today (perhaps partly because Arnold continued to promote it in the pages of Communicator, but probably mostly because nobody at Paramount ever bothered to officially revoke it, just ignoring it instead).


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              • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
                By: The Magrathean (Odo's file, contact) @ 13:43:33 on Oct 16, 2006

                The problem with your line of reasoning, though, Gustavo, is that none of the producers of any future films or series will bother to treat the novels as canon, and won't think twice about creating material that blatantly contradicts what may have happened in the books. So really, there's no point in insisting that the books are canon.


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                • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
                  By: GreginWA (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 21:54:37 on Oct 16, 2006

                  Exactly. What he fails to grasp is that there is no justifyable reason for anyone to consider these books (that are read by a relative handful of people) canon while the filmed episodes which are viewed by millions would not be canon. Just doesn't make sense.


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                  • RE: First Contact ruined these books. | Report this post to moderator
                    By: GustavoLeao (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 09:09:55 on Oct 17, 2006

                    I understand what you guys are saying. But as I said, it is my personal choice to include novels and comics as canon. Just a personal choice of mine. It is just me.

                    And yes, it is entirely valid to say it's canon until it's contradicted.

                    I am not conforming to the same canon Roddenberry and Arnold defined as "official". Again, a personal choice.

                    Gustavo


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                    gl2000@uol.com.br


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Christopher Pike Novels | Report this post to moderator
By: GustavoLeao (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 12:56:37 on Oct 14, 2006

As a big fan of The Cage and the Captain Pike character, I will pick Vulcans Glory next month. As Federation is one of my favorite Trek novels.... ever.

Gustavo

--------

TrekWeb.com Supervising Editor

gl2000@uol.com.br


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