Hyperchannel: A Star Trek News Podcast

Star Trek Continues premieres "Fairest of Them All" The long awaited third episode of Star Trek Continues has finally been unveiled on June 15 at Supanova in Syndey. Returing to the Mirror Universe, "Fairest of Them All," follows up immediately after the Original Series episode "Mirror, Mirror" and tells the story of what happened aboard the ISS Enterprise when the mirror landing party returned to the ship. The cast of STC gathered in Australia for the premiere, and the episode is now also available for viewing worldwide on YouTube and Vimeo. Watch the episode!   Abandoned Abramsverse horses and fish come out to play We only spent a short time on Nibiru at the beginning of Star Trek Into Darkness. And while the scenes were memorable, there was much more in the works that got nixed for time and budget. Alfonso De La Torre, a conceptual illustrator who worked on the film, has released images that he created for Into Darkness showing several creatures native to Nibiru, including a horse, insect, and some fish. 

Star Trek set to invade Boston As Chicago recovers from a Trek invasion, the next city bracing itself for impact is Boston. On Saturday and Sunday, June 21 and 22, Star Trek actors from across all series will land at the John B. Hynes Convention Center, headlined by Captain Sisko himself, Avery Brooks. Joining Brooks will be Walter Koenig, Robert Picardo, Terry Farrell, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Roberty O' Reilly, J.G. Hertzler, Max Grodenchik, Aron Eisenberg, John Billingsley, and Garrett Wang. The event will also feature a costume parade and a first look at the new strategy roleplaying game, Star Trek Timelines. Get more info and tickets.   Data and Geordi get big heads There's no doubt that Data and Geordi are smart. No one can pull off an engineering plan or a technological ploy and then give a PowerPoint about it like these bosom buddies. But sometimes all that smarts goes to your head. This seems to be the case with the latest offering from BifBangPo

Is Lowe's Developing Holodeck Technology? Having trouble visualizing that next home improvement project? Wish you could just tell the computer what you'd like it to create? Lowe's, the hardware and home furnishing chain, thinks this is exactly how you should go about decking out your abode. And to make this a reality, Lower's is boldly going "into new shopping experiences, launching a holograph-based virtual reality showroom dubbed the Holoroom." Find out more at SingularityHub.   Elachi Alert Weekend Comes to Star Trek Online If you're looking to slam the door on subspace and earn extra rewards at the same time, you'll want to make sure you log into STO for Elachi Alert Weekend from now until Monday, July 16, at 10 p.m. Pacific. Help protect the scientific fleet that is working to close the gateways and earn 50% bonuses on mark rewards. Find out more on the Star Trek Online website.

Trek comic righting social wrongs of Trek canon Star Trek is all about diveristy and inclusiveness, but what exactly those words means changes over time. Comic writer Mark Farinas aims to correcting many of what he sees as massive social oversights in Trek canon through his artwork and stories on trekcomic.com. The first serial, entitled "No Good Deed," is set at the end of the Earth-Romulan War and features an openly gay captain. However, the captain’s homosexuality is not a plot point; it’s only a piece of characterization. The  second serial, "Weapons of Mass Destruction," began last week and features a group of outlaws on the planet Tellar that is led by a woman. Find out more and read the comics.   Star Trek actors join Reading Rainbow Live Unless you are completely disconnected from the Internet—and perhaps reality—you know that LeVar Burton's Kickstarter campaign shattered its $1 million goal in 12 hours. Now the one-month campaign has passed $3.6 million with three weeks to go. The new stretch goal is

NASA engineers unveil warp ship design concept—IXS Enterprise In 2012, NASA engineer and physicist Harold White announced he was working on a solution to the energy problem in Miguel Alcubierre’s 1994 theory for faster-than-light space travel. His goal? To reduce the requirements from the mass-energy of Jupiter to something the size of NASA’s Voyager 1 probe. Now, as part of the project, White has collaborated with Mark Rademaker to create a CGI design concept of a warp-capable ship, which they have named it the IXS Enterprise. See the ship design.   First trailer for Prelude to Axanar revelead Fans can now get their first look at Prelude to Axanar with the release of the first trailer—and it is incredible! Presented as a History Channel-style look back at the battle, this powerful sneak peak packs so much Star Trek glory into less than three minutes that you will be counting the days until the full release if you aren't already. See J.G. Hertzler as a Starfleet captain, Richard Hatch as a Klingon, and Tony T

Spock Days are Coming to Vulcan… Alberta If you've always wanted to visit Vulcan, there's never been a better time to go that the weekend of June 13-15. The weather is beautiful and you won't even need an extra set of eyelids to protect you. While you're there in the town of Vulcan, Alberta, Canada you'll meet Nana Visitor, Rene Aberjonois, and Chase Masterson, as well as take in stargazing hosted by the Royal Astronomical Society of Calgary. There lots of Star Trek fun in store for you during the Spock days of summer. Find out more at VulcanTourism.com   Has Netflix Teamed Up with CBS for a New Star Trek Series? Uhm... no. They have not. But the rumor is swirling after someone misinterpreted comments from Phoenix Comicon. The story making the rounds is that Larry Nemecek broke the news to those at the convention; but this is not what happened. Larry pops in for a few minutes in this episode of Hyperchannel to clear the air and tell us what really was said. Read more from Larry about this story on his website

Star Trek V celebrates its 25th Anniversary It's the film fans love to hate. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier turns 25 today and, unlike a fine wine, the public perception of it has not improved much over the years. But is the hate for Shatner's lone Star Trek directorial outing justified? While there is no arguing that the film could have been executed better, there are a number of positive elements in Star Trek V that deserve the attention of fans. On the anniversary of the film's release, we reflect on both the positive and the negative and why blue horses and magic Vulcans aren't as bad as you think.

Shatner to Serve as Calgary Stampede Parade Grand Marshal It's a well-known fact that William Shatner loves horses. It's also a well-known fact that he's Canadian. Sometimes those two things come together in the perfect storm, which is exactly what is happening beginning July 4 when Shatner kicks off the Calgary Stampede Parade as Grand Marshal. Captain Kirk will be joined by speed skaters Gilmore Junio and Denny Morrison as honorary marshals at the event that supports the non-profit organization. Shatner admits that, despite his love of horses, he's never been to the Calgary Stampede. We're just wondering if he might run into Captain Picard there so they can ride off into the Nexus. Find out more about the Stampede at StarTrek.com.   Star Trek Exhibition Beams Down to Jakarta When it comes to big Star Trek events, no one gets the goodies like the United States. England and Germany get to play in the stars from time to time, but Asia often feels like the land that Trek forgot. Fans in Indonesia, therefore, ar

Klingons Exert Influence on the International Space Station Apparently there has been a Klingon invasion of the International Space Station—though it could have been much worse. Astronaut Steve Swanson, currently commander of the ISS (not a Mirror Universe facility), created a mission patch for Expedition 40 that paid tribute to his Star Trek fandom and the franchise's influence on society. Interestingly he did this through Klingon imagery, not Starfleet. The final patch shed the Klingon motif, but the emblem still found its way aboard the orbitting outpost. Get more details and view the patch designs at collectSPACE.   3D Printed Food Brings Replicator One Step Closer to Reality When you want something to eat in Star Trek, you just walk over to the wall, tell the computer what you want, and wait for it to appear. Such hands-off preparation of dinner could be closer to reality than we think. 3D printing technology is quickly moving from the realm of plastic objects to the world of cuisine. A number of compani

Robert Blackman to Judge Star Trek Las Vegas Costume Competition It takes many talented people to put together a television show like Star Trek, and each of these creatives plays a unique role in the final product. When it comes to costume design, no one has exerted more influence over how we think about Star Trek than Robert Blackman. For nearly two decades, Blackman has directed the look and feel of Trek's threads—beginning with TNG's third season all the way through Enterprise. He will be appearing at Star Trek Las Vegas this summer—his first since the early days of modern Star Trek—where he will conduct a Q&A and judge the costume contest. As a lead up to the event, StarTrek.com has published a fascinating two-part interview with the costume genius.   Read the full interview on StarTrek.com. Part 1 and Part 2   A New Hope for Life In Space As a Star Trek fan, chances are you would love to wake up one morning to the news that we've discovered other life somewhere out there in the cosmos. Despite our te

Bio Looks at the Genius of Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" On June 3, 1969, the final episode of Star Trek aired. But while it was the end of the original series television series, it was just the beginning of the franchise. Since that day 45 years ago, fans have continued to watch the adventures of Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the original Enterprise 1701. From those adventures we've learned about life, how to understand and respect others, and how to build technology that has changed our world. To mark this anniversary, Laurie Ulster has written a piece on the BIO website that highlights some of the genius of Gene Roddenberry's creation, and always what she has gained from watching the series over the years. Read the full retrospective on the BIO website.   Creation Beams Into the Windy City for Star Trek Chicago Star Trek fans in Chicago can meet some of their favorite actors in person this weekend as Creation Entertainment's official convention comes to the Windy City. The event is headlined by none other than

Top 10 Least Threatening Villains Star Trek has given us a lot of incredible villains. Khan, the Borg, and Gul Dukat comes immediately to mind. But the franchise has also given us a lot of less-than-threatening villains as well—and I'm not talking about Neelix's leola root stew. Charlie Jane Anders on io9 has compiled a list of the 10 Least Threatening Star Trek Villains, and we share out thoughts on the choices in today's Hyperchannel. Read the full list and justifications for not being threatening on io9.

Phase II: Concept Art from Mike Minor's Drawing Board In 1977, Paramount Pictures envisioned a new five year mission for the Enterprise. Although illustrator Mike Minor (who also worked on TOS, The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan—and who was the uncredited creator of "The Tholian Web"—created concept art for the project, titled Phase II, the show was never realized. However, several pieces of Minor's concept art for the show have recently been released, showing designs for engineering, the captain’s quarters, a cargo hold, and a recreation room. View Minor's Phase II artwork on ScienceFiction.com.   Making Dr. McCoy's Magic Pills Real When the crew of the Enterprise traveled back to 1986 San Francisco, the most shocking thing to Bones wasn't chaotic traffic or computer input via mouse, it was the primitive state of medicine. Taking inspiration from Star Trek, doctors today are working to make things like Dr. McCoy's magic pills—which apparently grow new kidneys. A breakthrough by Gladstone Institutes all

DIY Enterprise: The Next Generation of 3-D Printing What do you do when you want to depict the destruction of the USS Enterprise from The Search for Spock, but all you have on hand is the Millennium Falcon—and you only have 15 minutes to remedy the situation? You 3D print the Enterprise, of course! This is 2014 after all. But even this solution could normally take five hours. What you need is a miracle. But don't call Scotty! Instead, call Yong Chen of the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. In a new video produced by the school, the venerable 1701 is resurrected in just 15 minutes.   Watch the video on StarTrek.com. http://www.startrek.com/article/watch-enterprise-created-in-15-minutes   George Takei Tweet Boosts Solar Roadways When Sulu speaks, people listen—and jump into action for a good cause. When George Takei heard about a project to revolutionize streets and sidewalks, turning them into energy generators that can power cities, he tweeted the info out to his 8 million Twitt

Celebrating 30 Years of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock After Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan breathed new life and excitement in to Star Trek in 1982, fans were eager for the next adventure of the USS Enterprise. There was just one problem: the ship would be setting sail without a key member of her crew—Spock. Fortunately we only had to live without our favorite Vulcan for two years before Harve Bennett gave him back to us in 1984. As hard as it is to believe, it's now been 30 years since Kirk violated orders and returned to Genesis. June 1 isn't known as Planet Forbidden Day; but it should be. It was on June 1, 1984, that Star Trek III premiered, and to commemorate the occassion StarTrek.com provides a trivia-filled look back. Read the StarTrek.com's look back at the film.   Teleportation Could Become Reality… Eventually Do you hate to travel? Not the part where you visit new and exciting places—or family and friends who live far away—but the part where you sit on an airplane for five hours. Ever wish y

CNN remembers "Plato's Stepchildren" (more or less) As part of its current retrospective on the 1960s, CNN highlighted the Original Series episode "Plato's Stepchildren" as an example of how, in that tumultuous decade, "Television [began] to tackle serious issues." As long-time fans know, this third-season episode is best remembered for a moment often touted as network television's first interracial kiss, when the telepathic Platonians force Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura to lock lips. Unfortunately, CNN didn't summarize the episode with 100% accuracy, but it still highlights the importance of Star Trek in breaking new ground. Read the full CNN article, "5 surpising things 1960s TV change."   Lost Apollo continues the Five Year Mission in TOS style Since 2009 we've gotten roughly four hours of content from the rebooted J.J. Abrams Star Trek. That's barely one new TV episode per year. At the end of Into Darkness the Enteprise is ready to finally start that famous five-year mission. Of course, we'll never se

Shatner and Star Trek nominated for TCA Awards Quick! Name one television show and one actor that have made a lasting impact on American culture—make that global culture. Did you answer Star Trek and William Shatner. If so, the Television Critics Association seems to agree. Star Trek: The Original Series has been nominated for the Heritage Award and William Shatner is up for the Career Achievement Award in the upcoming 30th Annual TCA Awards, which will be handed out on Saturday, July 19. Find out and view all of the nominees.   Tampa Bay Rays to serve up Star Trek Night Every Deep Space Nine fan knows that Captain Sisko loves baseball. They also know that sport has died out on Earth by the 24th century. Luckily we still live in the 21st, and so on Friday, June 6, we can watch the Tampa Bay Rays take on the Seattle Mariners on what will be known as Star Trek Night at Tropicana Field. The night will include a showing of the "Chain of Command" Blu-ray trailer and free Star Trek-themed t-shirts. Find out more an

Marc Cushman's These Are the Voyages receives Saturn Award A great deal is known about the making of Star Trek: The Original Series, but what is most amazing is how much isn't know—or at least hasn't been until now. Marc Cushman, the writer who penned the story that became the TNG episode "Sarek," was charged by Gene Roddenberry with the task of writing a comprehensive history of TOS. It took many years for the project to be completed, but this year has seen the release of two massive volumes called These Are the Voyages: TOS—with a third volume on the way—totally more than 2,000 pages of behind-the-scenes material. Such as monumental effort deserves to be honored, and that's just what the Saturn Awards will be doing on June 26 as they recognize the books with a Special Recognition Award. Find out more at 1701 News. Get the books—autographed by Marc Cushman.   Five Year Mission Named Official House Band of Star Trek Las Vegas At long last, something we've been requesting for years has finally happened. Five Y

Microsoft brings Star Trek's Universal Translator to Skype Are you tired of being misunderstood. Wish you could speak a foreign language? If Microsoft's new Star Trek-like translation technology works, the Tower of Babel could come crumbling down in the near future. Demonstrating a version of Skype containing new on-the-fly translation technology, Microsoft is showing off a tool that allows people who speak different languages to communicate in real time, just as on Star Trek. Will it work? That remain to be seen. But the product is scheduled to enter beta later this year. Find out more about the technology at .net.   Rebooted TNG coming in 2016? (Don't hold your breath.) As we get closer to the 50th anniversary year of Star Trek, rumors about the next television series are heating up. We've heard a number of different rumors over the past few months—none substantiated, of course. The latest rumor suggests that a new series will premiere in 2016 right after the third (and final) JJ Abrams film leaves theatres

Star Trek prop to help Reading Rainbow grow One of the most memorable props from Star Trek: The Next Generation is the VISOR worn by Geordi LaForge. And the actor who portrayed the blind engineer, LeVar Burton, is bringing the VISOR out of storage to help raise money to help revive his famous children's show Reading Rainbow. PBS stopped airing the show in 2009 after an amazing 26-year run, and since 2012 the program has existed in the form of an app for iPad and Kindle Fire. As part of a Kickstarter beginning May 28, you can actually try the VISOR on yourself. Find out more about Burton's plans for Reading Rainbow.   Jonathan Frakes to direct new television series Many Star Trek actors have gone on to direct both within the franchise and beyond. Jonathan Frakes has stayed busy behind the camera over the years as a director and a producer, and his hand will be seen once again later this year when TNT revives the Librarian trilogy as a new television series. Frakes, who directed the second and third parts of th