Ge ne ralOrde rs Volume 1 Number 7
July 2006
H AILTH E EM PIR E!
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From Th e Ce nte r Se at By Captain D ave Low e
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h is m onth , w e w il l e xpl ore th e Ve s s e l Re adine s s Ce rtification Program (VRCP) th rough Starfl e e t Acade m y. In th e age s b e fore s tars h ips roam e d s pace , th e US Navy re q uire d th at e ach of its s h ips pas s a s e rie s of te s ts or dril l s in orde r to b e com e ce rtifie d for s e a duty. A Stars h ip, Space Station, or oth e r Ve s s e ls h oul d al s o pas s ins pe ction b e fore it is put into s e rvice . Each de partm e nt and ul tim ate l y th e e ntire ve s s e l can e arn its ce rtification. Th is s e rie s of ce rtifications is to b e e arne d th rough th e e fforts of th e e ntire Starfl e e t cre w of a Starfl eet Ve s s e l . It tak e s a m inim um of four cre w m e m b e rs w ork ing toge th e r to tak e a s e rie s of cours e s to b e com e ce rtifie d in various de partm e nts ab oard s h ip. We curre ntl y h ave s core d ce rtifications in five de partm e nts ; Com m and, Com m unications , Se curity, D ipl om acy, and Marine s . Th is is prim aril y from th e e s te e m e d Acade m y Care e r of s om e of our curre nt m e m b e rs , w ith s pe cial re cognition for Major K aith Rus h , w ith s om e 30+ cours e s to h e r cre dit. Th is is an optionalprogram , b ut one I de e m of val ue . I th ink it’s a good us e of your Starfl e e t m e m b e rs h ip to tak e cours e s th rough th e Acade m y. In m os t cas e s , onl ine cl as s e s are fre e of ch arge . And if you w ant to tak e th e m b y m ail , a s m al lfe e of $1 or $2 and se l f addre s s e d e nve l ope s and s tam ps is re q uire d. Th e s e l e ction of cours e s cove rs a l ot of inte re s ts . Es pe cial l y th e Ins titute of Scie nce Fiction, th e re are cours e s in oth e r TV and Movie s th an jus t STAR TREK . I k now th e re are cours e s in Bab yl on 5, Fars cape , Battl e s tar Gal actica, and Stargate SG1 jus t to nam e a fe w . Th e re is s om e th ing for e ve ryone . So l ook ove r th e de partm e nts and l e t's ge t th e MacArth ur ce rtifie d in al lare as .
General Orders
Ne w s l e tte r Re vam pe d
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ou m ay notice a cris pe r l ook to th e l ayout of th is ne w s l e tte r. It w as re produce d in a program cal l e d Scrib us and w as done on m y Linux l aptop. So now th e re is no de pe nde nce on Micros oft for th e ne w s l e tte r, it w as cre ate d us ing 100% Fre e or O pe n Source s oftw are . You m ay not th ink th at is im portant, b ut I do, Th e im age s w e re e dite d in Th e Gim p, th e GNU Im age Manipul ation Program . Th e e ffe cts and oth e r graph ics w e re al ldone in Scrib us . It w as e xporte d to a PD F fil e b y th e s oftw are its e l f, not Adob e Acrob at. So it's al lFre e Softw are th at b uil t th is is s ue . And h ow coolis th at? Pok e r Nigh t
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e ne e d to com e up w ith a date and tim e for anoth e r pok e r nigh t. W e h ave re ce ive d q uite a fe w inq uirie s on w h e n w e w oul d do it again. Th is tim e , h ow e ve r, I jus t w ant a frie ndl y, ope n gam e and not a tournam e nt. W e 'l lne e d to s e e if th e s am e l ocation, Top of th e Bay Cl ub, w oul d b e w il l ing to h ave us al lb ack . O r w e can s e l e ct anoth e r ve nue .
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Anim ate d Se rie s Com ing to D VD
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fte r a l ong, l ong w ait, fans of th e Star Tre k anim ate d s e rie s w il lb e h appy to l e arn th at al l 22 e pis ode s of th e 19 73-74 production w il le ve ntual l y b e re l e as e d on D VD b y Param ount H om e Ente rtainm e nt. Th is is gre at ne w s , of cours e , to com pl e tionis ts and Star Tre k fans in ge ne ral . Many of us h ave our ow n fond m e m orie s or pe rce ptions of th is s h ow , and it's no w onde r th at th e anim ate d ins tal l m e nt h as b e e n h otl y conte s te d for ye ars as to its s tatus w ith in th e Tre k oe uvre . Are th e pe opl e , pl ace s and th ings containe d th e re in part of w h at w e cal l "Star Tre k "? It's a b ig q ue s tion, pe rh aps not ans w e rab l e h e re , b ut it's not w ith out h is torical pre ce de nt: Jus t w h at is th is "canon" th at th e y s pe ak of? From th e tim e th at m ank ind coul d print re l igious te xts , th e q ue s tion w as as k e d: W h at is "canon," or te xts acce pte d as ge nuine w h e n it com e s to docum e nting official h is tory? Th e b ib l e , w ith one s tandard s e t b y th e K ing Jam e s Ve rs ion, original l y containe d th e b ook s th at w e re de e m e d non-canon, or "apocryph al " ("Th e Book of Judith ," anyone ?). But th is s e ction, th e "Apocryph a," w as pl ace d in b e tw e e n th e O l d and Ne w Te s tam e nts to s e t th e b ook s apart from w h at w e re cons ide re d divine te xts . Al th ough th e Apocryph a w as re m ove d from th e K ing Jam e s Bib l e, you can s til lfind s om e e ditions th at incl ude it. But for th e Bib l e in ge ne ral , total agre e m e nt on al l th e b ook s and al l th e trans l ations s im pl y doe s not e xis t.
s e rie s of various nove l izations , originalnove l s and com ic b ook s . Th e q ue s tion w as a natural one : W h at e xactl y is cons ide re d part of Star Tre k l ore , and w h at is n't? (And if it is n't, w h y not?) Pe rh aps th e s im pl e ans w e r is th at th e b ook s are num e rous and de tail e d; to h ol d al lth os e facts and s tardate s and w h o did w h at to w h om w h e n is jus t too m uch to as k any s ingl e fan to re tain. To m ak e th ings e as y, Ge ne Rodde nb e rry s tate d th at if it appe ars on s cre e n it's canon. But in tim e , e ve n Ge ne 's th e ory w oul d com e unde r fire b y h is ow n s tandards . Th e re w e re ce rtain m ovie s and s h ow s th at h e fe l t didn't m e e t Tre k s tandards . Rodde nb e rry ce rtainl y h ad h is ow n is s ue s w ith th e anim ation of th e Saturday m orning s pin-off s h ow and didn't cons ide r it canon — e ve n th ough th e s h ow avoide d b e ing th e "Arch ie s in Space "as h e h ad fe are d. For fans , th e anim ate d s h ow (k now n s im pl y b y its on-s cre e n nam e as Star Tre k , b ut re fe rre d to now b y nam e s s uch as "Th e Anim ate d Adve nture s of Ge ne Rodde nb e rry's Star Tre k ," or e ve n ab b re viate d as ST: TAS or TAA) h ail e d th e b e ginning of a re s urge nce of Tre k . Supporte rs argue th at its l e gacy is m anife s t: It fe ature d s om e of th e top w rite rs of th e day in Larry (Continue d on Page 4)
In Star Tre k , canon is al s o an is s ue . W h e n th e q ue s tion of w h at is or is n't canon firs t rais e d its h e ad is uncl e ar, b ut it is prob ab l y in conne ction w ith th e conte nt of th e original nove l s as oppos e d to th e TV s h ow s , and l ate r th e m ovie s . At th e tim e , th e re w as onl y one te l e vis ion s h ow , and a
Volume 1 Number 7
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TAS (From Page 3) Nive n, D avid Ge rrol d, Sam ue l A. Pe e pl e s , D .C. Fontana, Ste ph e n TAS K ande l and e ve n W al te r K oe nig; it fe ature d ne w ch aracte rs , pl ace s and al ie ns ; it h ad re curring gue s t s tars s uch as Roge r C. Carm e land Mark Le nard and fol l ow -up s torie s to th e "Trib b l e s " and "H arry Mudd" s agas ; it cam e w ith a b ona fide Star Tre k s tam p of approvalw ith Ge ne 's nam e attach e d, as w e l las D .C. Fontana's ; and, b ottom l ine , it w as a Saturday m orning s h ow th at didn't ins ul t one 's inte l l ige nce . O ne re vie w e r at th e tim e e ve n s ugge s te d th at th e anim ate d s e rie s w as too good for Saturday m ornings ("a Me rce de s in a s oapb ox de rb y") and s h oul d b e m ove d to prim e tim e ! (Los Ange l e s Tim e s , 19 73) D e tractors h ave a diffe re nt tak e on th e s e rie s . Th e y argue th at th e s h ow 's anim ation w as rudim e ntary at b e s t, w ith re pe ate d s e ts and one s tandard ove rh e ad s h ot of th e Bridge us e d e ndl e ssl y. Al s o, a m ain ch aracte r w as s crub b e d (Ch e k ov) for b udge t re as ons and re pl ace d b y a coupl e of al ie ns th at coul d b e voice d b y Maje lBarre tt and Jam e s D ooh an, w h o did th e l ion's s h are of th e voice s anyw ay. And, jus t as a m atte r of tas te , s om e s e e th e anim ate d s e rie s as s il l y and incons e q ue ntial . On th e oth e r h and, principal ch aracte rs in th e s h ow w e re voice d, s ans K oe nig, b y th e originalactors . Sure , you h ad ne w ch aracte rs w ith w ings and tail s and th re e l e gs , and you h ad oth e r im age ry incons is te nt w ith th e s tyl e of th e O riginalSe rie s , b ut th at w as s im pl y a part of th e b roade r vis ual s cope avail ab l e th rough anim ation. In fact, one of th e th ings th at s ol d Ge ne on th e conce pt of an anim ate d s e rie s w as th e fact th at b udge ts w e re not an is s ue . Al s o, th e anim ate d s h ow introduce d conce pts th at w oul d b e s e ize d upon in future Star Tre k incarnations s uch as th e h ol ode ck ("Th e Practical Jok e r"). And fans s e e m to h ol d as "factual " th at Rob e rt April ("Th e Counte r-Cl ock Incide nt") w as th e firs t captain of th e Ente rpris e NCC-1701, pre ce ding Ch ris toph e r Pik e .
General Orders
B illingsley Talk s About HFrom is ChTrearacte rs k Today
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oh n Bil l ings l ey (Ph l ox) h as ans w e re d fan q ue s tions on h is w e b s ite ab out ne w s e rie s Th e Nine and s e ve ral re ce nt gue s t ch aracte rs h e pl aye d, de s crib ing h is audition proce s s for h is fal ls e rie s and jok ing th at h e re fus e s to b e a Me th od actor w h e n it com e s to th e torture h is
ch aracte r h as unde rgone Bre ak .
on Pris on
"Th e re 's a w onde rful e xcite m e nt for an actor in ge tting to pl ay s om e b ody w h o's trying, de s pe rate l y, TO CH ANGE H IS LIFE," th e actor w rote at Joh nBil l ings l e y.ne t. "Egan, in th e s cript, e m e rge s from a traum atic s ituation w ith a gre at de s ire to 'b ol dl y go w h e re (h e , at l e as t) h as ne ve r gone b e fore '...w h ate ve r th e ge nre , it's fun to pl ay a m an w h o is m ak ing dis cove rie s ab out h im s e l f." Th e Nine w as Bil l ings l e y's firs t audition of th e pas t pil ot s e as on pas t and h e fe l t th at "th e s tars [w e re ] in conjunction" to as s is t h im . "Th e y'd se e n a l ot of pe opl e and fe l t, I th ink , th at actors w e re ove r-s tre s s ing th e 'gl um ' note s ins te ad of th e 'upb e at' note s in th e m ate rial ,"h e w as tol d by
(Continue d on Page 6)
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Gram m e r Made Up for X-Me n 3 Courte s y of Sci Fi W ire
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el s e y Gram m e r, w h o pl ays H ank McCoy/Be as t in th e SF s e q ue lXMe n: Th e Las t Stand, tol d SCI FI W ire th at h e k ne w ve ry l ittl e ab out th e ch aracte r or th e X-Me n com ic b ook s b e fore s igning on for th e fil m. "I don't k now m uch ab out X-Me n e xce pt th e fil m s , actual l y," Gram m e r s aid in an inte rvie w h e re ove r th e w e e k e nd. "I w as a Th or guy w h e n I w as a k id. Th or ... I re m e m b e r re s onating, prob ab l y b e caus e I w as a Nors e god in m y pas t. I m us t adm it."
"I did a l ittl e b it of re s e arch , ch e ck e d out w h at th e Be as t h ad b e e n, w h at h is s tory w as ," Gram m e r s aid. "I as k e d a coupl e of fans , actual l y: th e m ak e up guys w h o did th e m ak e up. Th e y k ne w m ore ab out th e pas t incarnations of Be as t, m ore th an anyb ody e l s e . Th e y're com pl e te fans . It's th e pe rfe ct job for th e s e guys . Th e y s tarte d out doing th is s tuff. ... Th e y w e re m ixing pros th e tic e q uipm e nt w h e n th e y w e re 5 or 6 ye ars ol d. Th e s e guys w e re to th e m anne r b orn." Gram m e r s m il e d sl yl y, th ough , w h e n as k e d h ow h is re s e arch and dis cus s ions w ith th e Las t Stand m ak e up te am inform e d h is pe rform ance . "Pre tty m uch w ith out any conne ction at al l , b ut it w as jus t nice to k now ," h e s aid. "It's nice to k now w h e re you com e from , b ut it h as ve ry l ittl e to do w ith w h e re you are in th e m om e nt of th is s h ow ." XMe n: Th e Las t Stand is now pl aying in th e ate rs .
Th is ne w s l e tte r h as b e e n produce d us ing al l O pe n Source s oftw are . Scrib us D e s k top Pub l is h ing and Th e Gim p for Graph ics on a PC running Ub untu Linux.
McCoy, an e xpe rt on h um an b iol ogy and m utations , is a l arge , pow e rful and w e l l -s pok e n figure w h o al so h appe ns to b e cove re d in b l ue fur. In th e fil m , h e s e rve s th e pre s ide nt of th e Unite d State s (Jos e f Som m e r) as th e s e cre tary of m utant affairs , b ut re unite s w ith th e X-Me n in th e w ak e of th e gove rnm e nt's q ue s tionab l e actions fol l ow ing th e de ve l opm e nt of a "cure "for m utancy.
Volume 1 Number 7
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Abrah m s Talk s Tre k From Tre k W e b
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he l ate s t is s ue of Em pire Magazine fe ature s an inte rvie w w ith Star Tre k XI produce r J.J. Ab ram s , in w h ich h e tal k s a b it ab out h is pl ans for th e upcom ing 11th Tre k m ovie . H e re are a fe w e xce rpts . "W e 've m ade a pact not to dis cus s any s pe cifics ..." h e s aid "But Star Tre k is s om e th ing I gre w up w ith and l ove . I fe e lth e re 's s til la gre at m ovie to b e m ade , anoth e r proud ch apte r in th e h is tory of Star Tre k . W e 've got a l ot of e xciting ne w ide as ." "To b e total l y h one s t w ith you, and th is is going to s ound h orrib l e, I h ave n't e ve n s e e n Ne m e s is ," l augh s Ab ram s "I fe e l l ik e th e s e rie s dis conne cte d for m e at a ce rtain pe riod, and th ough I w il l h ave to w atch and s e e e ve ryth ing th at w as done , I w ant to s e e w h at not to do as m uch as anyth ing. But as s om e one w h o w ork s on a s h ow th at h as a ve ry l oyal and vocal fan b as e , I do unde rs tand th e ne e d to b e re s pe ctful . I th ink w e can do th e fans proud."
Bil l ings l e y (From Page 4) th e cas ting dire ctor. "So...w ith th at dire ction in m ind...I m arch e d s aucil y forw ard and th e re ya h ave it." H is w ife w as cal l e d in to re ad for W ith out a Trace b y th e s am e cas ting dire ctor, w h o th e n s ugge s te d th at s h e w oul d b e pe rfe ct to pl ay Bil l ings l e y's w ife on Th e Nine . "It's a re curring rol e , so w e don't k now h ow prom ine nt s h e w il lb e , b ut it's one of th e m os t e xciting as pe cts of th is w h ol e s h e b ang, for m e ." Pris on Bre ak is a l e s s pl e as ant rol e, and a fan as k e d w h e th e r th e actor actual l y h ad to h ave te e th re m ove d for th e rol e . "W ait untilyou dis cove r w h at th e y've done to h im b e ne ath th e w ais t. I dre w th e l ine at 'th e Me th od approach ' at th at point," h e jok e d, s aying it took pe rh aps five h ours to ge t h is fal s e te e th put in to cove r h is ow n intact one s . H ow e ve r, it w as w e l lw orth it, as th e s e rie s w as "de finite l y one of th e cus h ie r gigs I've h ad, re m inis ce nt of [Ente rpris e ] paych e ck s I re ce ive d w h e n I did b upk us ", as w as CSI: NY, a rol e h e e xpl aine d h e did for th e paych e ck th ough h e e njoye d w ork ing w ith th e cas t and cre w . Bil l ings l e y is not ce rtain th at h e w il lappe ar again on Pris on Bre ak now th at h e h as b e e n cas t on Th e Nine on a diffe re nt ne tw ork . As for Col d Cas e , w h e re h e pl aye d a ch aracte r one fan de s crib e d as cre e py, Bil l ings l e y w rote , "It's th e audie nce th at de fine s s om e b ody as 'cre e py', not th e actor." For h im , pl aying a rol e is "al l ab out figuring out anoth e r pe rs on's point of vie w and not b e ing judgm e ntal ...in e s s e nce , you tak e l ong w al k s and tal k to yours e l f as if you are th e ch aracte r you are pl aying, you e xpl ain to yours e l f w h y you fe e lw h at you fe e l , you te l lyours e l f th e re as ons w h y you do th e th ings you do." H e adde d th at it h e l ps th at appare ntl y he l ook s l ik e a s e rialk il l e r. More from Bil l ings l e y m ay b e found at h is w e b s ite .
General Orders
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Inte rvie w W ith "Star Tre k : Le gacy" De signe r
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ne w inte rvie w w ith th e de ve l ope r and ne w s cre e n s h ots from Star Tre k : Le gacy re ve al s om e of th e de tail s of th e upcom ing gam e , incl uding h ow s om e of th e s pace w e apons w il lw ork . D r. Ian Lane D avis , th e D oc of Mad D oc Softw are w h ich cre ate d th e gam e for pub l is h e r Be th e s da Softw ork s , tol d FiringSq uad th at h e found s h ipto-s h ip b attl e s to b e th e m os t rive ting m om e nts in th e s e rie s . "W e 've im m e rs e d pl aye rs in th e ve ry h e art of Star Tre k 's m os t de fining, com pe l l ing q ue s tion: 'To l ive or die in b attl e ?'", h e s aid. "Star Tre k h as re s onate d s o de e pl y w ith fans b e caus e it’s ab out th ings w e can al l ide ntify w ith : frie nds h ip, l oyal ty, b rave ry, adve rs ity, l ife and de ath , good vs e vil , th e th ings th at b ind us ."
e xpe rie nce d gam e rs w oul d find advance d tactics to e xpl ore . "W ith Mad D oc’s top-notch AI, you don’t ne e d to cons tantl y m icro-m anage your s h ips . You can h op into any pil ot’s s e at w h e n you w ant w h il e us ing s pe cialattack s ,"h e s aid. Th ough pl aye rs can com m and l arge b attl e s h ips , D avis s aid th at th e s couts h ave m ore m ane uve rab il ity. "Pe rs onal l y, at th e e nd of a l ong day, th e re ’s noth ing m ore e njoyab l e th an tak ing th e D e fiant out for a s pin. Fire pow e r, s pe e d, tigh t turns ...th at s h ip h as it al l . Sis k o w as a l uck y m an,"h e s aid.
D avis did not w ant to give aw ay de tail s ab out w h ich particul ar e ve nts w e re incl ude d in Le gacy, b ut h e s aid th at novice gam e rs coul d "jum p righ t in and s tart pl aying" w h il e
Volume 1 Number 7
A Sm allPrice to Pay
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ant to l ook good at th e ne xt conve ntion or function? W ant to ge t s om e cool ISS MacArth ur s ch w ag to im pre s s your frie nds ? Re pre s e nt th e Mac w ith th is cool pol o s h irt from our Cafe Pre s s s tore . For a m e re $16.9 9 pl us s h ipping, you can h ave th is al l cotton w h ite gol f s h irt. A com fortab l e l igh tw e igh t w ay to pl ay 18-h ol e s and b e at th e h e at. Fe ature s , s tyl is h w ood-tone b uttons , ye t it fe e l s l ik e w e aring your favorite t-s h irt.. Buy yours today!
GeneralOrders
W e lcom e to th e s e ve nth is s ue of Ge ne ralO rde rs ! Th is ne w s lette r is publis h e d m onth ly and m ade available e lectronically on th e firs tday of th e m onth . Th is is th e July 2006 ne w s lette r. Subm is s ions m ay be m ade to th e Editor via e m ailatco@ is s m acarth ur.com Copyrigh t© 2006 ISS M acArth ur. AllR igh ts R e s e rve d. Star Tre k , Star Tre k : Th e Ne xt Ge ne ration, Star Tre k : D e e p Space Nine , Star Tre k : Voyage r, Star Tre k : Ente rpris e , STAR FLEET, STAR FLEET ACAD EM Y all® Param ount Picture s , a VIACO M com pany. No Infringe m e ntInte nde d. STAR FLEET Th e Inte rnationalSTAR TR EK Fan As s ociation , Inc., is a non-profit corporation in th e State of NC, is notconne cte d w ith Param ount, VIACO M , or Star Tre k : Th e O fficialFan Club, and h as be e n in e xis te nce s ince 19 74.