This week on Episode 464 of Priority One --- We ‘Trek Out’ STLV’s TWO big changes, Jason Isaacs’ thoughts on Prime Lorca, Jeffrey Combs clears up some confusion, and Jason Zimmerman talks special effects! In Star Trek Gaming, we have a call to action!
Of course, as always, before we wrap up the show, we’ll open hailing frequencies for your incoming messages
Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!
This Weeks Community Questions Are:
CQ: Where do YOU think Prime Lorca is? Do you want to see him in future Trek?
AND
CQ: What object in Romulan lore do you think could be a “Legendary” Item?
TREK IT OUT
by Jake Morgan
Star Trek Las Vegas Moved to December
Star Trek Las Vegas. A place where thousands of Star Trek fans meet to celebrate our favorite franchise. A place that brings the creative minds behind the property - and the fans that have helped keep it alive for over fifty years - together. A place where you must remain indoors because it’s August in the desert, and there is fear of spontaneously combusting, melting into the pavement, or becoming a gas through sublimation. Sadly, this year, Star Trek fans won’t have the opportunity to OFFICIALLY meet up in Las Vegas this August. But imagine being able to celebrate STLV without fear of looking like Arnold Toht - at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” - if we venture out for fresh air?!?
On Friday June 5th, Creation Entertainment released an update to the 2020 Official Star Trek: Las Vegas Convention. From the release ”The 19th Annual Star Trek Convention’s NEW DATE is now December 9-13, 2020 and is beaming into Caesars Forum Conference Center Las Vegas, the brand-new state of the art, $375 million facility located in the heart of the famed Las Vegas Strip! Caesars Forum Conference Center features direct access to our new host hotel, the newly renovated Harrah’s Las Vegas!”
That’s right! This year the convention will take place in December, and it WON’T be at the Rio. Creation followed, saying ”William Shatner, Walter Koenig, Kelsey Grammer and more guests have confirmed the new date, and we are currently working on more confirmations.”
If you’re still not comfortable making plans to travel at this time, or simply can’t go in December, Creation is suggesting you cancel your room at the Rio, call your airline, and cancel your tickets to the convention through a link provided in their release. But act fast, the deadline to cancel convention tickets is June 19th, 2020.
Jason Isaacs Talks About Returning To Pike as Lorca
When Jason Isaacs was cast as the Captain of the USS Discovery, some people rose an eye-brow. It was interesting that the Villain from “The Patriot” , “Harry Potter”, and “The OA” - as well as the voice of Iconic super villains Lex Luthor, Ra's al Ghul, and Sinestro - was going to be one of Discovery’s heroes, Captain Gabriel Lorca. As Discovery’s first season unfolded, and it was revealed that Lorca should have had a goatee, few viewers were shocked; But Isaacs compelling portrayal left fans thirsty for more, and many were asking ‘where is PRIME Lorca’? As it turns out, it wasn’t only fans asking about the devious would-be-emperor’s doppelganger
In an interview with the “Empire Films Podcast”, Jason Isaacs asked that very question. He said ”Where is Prime Lorca? Well, I admit that we talk. It’s not like when Mirror Lorca bit the bullet there wasn’t a clamoring for Prime Lorca, but the thing is, it has got to be a great story. Pike is already there! We know what he is like. We have seen him and he’s great. We don’t know who Prime Lorca is.”
Isaacs went on to explain that no one wants to see an indecisive, logy character, saying /”He is going to have to be as interesting, as ballsy, and you have to find him a ship and find him a context to bring him into a story. So, we talk. And when and if we come up with something we think is fabulous I will happily go on a starvation diet required to slip into the snakeskin uniform again.”
Jeffrey Combs on Returning To Trek
A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned the hopeful proposition of a Jeffrey Combs return to Star Trek - this time as Captain Pike’s booze chucking Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Boyce. If you’ll recall, Combs was doubtful of the casting, saying ”the chasm between what fans want and what the studios want make the chances of it happening slim to none.... and Slim left town.”. But Combs clarified his comments this week, when he sat down with friends of the Roddenberry Podcast Network, Trekmovie.com
Combs told Trekmovie he was surprised that the Twitter exchange had become newsworthy, before clearing up his statements ”Some people were saying, “Jeff says he doesn’t want to do it!” And that wasn’t my point at all. My point was there has always been a disconnect between and fans and the networks and studios. It goes all the way back and not just with Star Trek. There is often this disconnect and that is what my tweet was about. What you want and what they want is most of the time not in harmony…I took it as a compliment that people wanted me to be a part of it. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t relish it or jump in and embrace it, but I have to be a bit of a realist here and it is not likely.”
Combs also took the opportunity to explain his reaction, saying ”I deeply appreciate the enthusiasm of the fans. I love them so much. …I would love it. I was completely surprised the fans jumped all over that and I guess my tweet was an attempt to go: Thank you, I appreciate that, but let’s be realistic. I have to be realistic. No one wants their hopes to be dashed on the rocks of disappointment.”
VFX Supervisor Jason Zimmerman Sits Down With Deadline
It’s said that the most impressive special effects are those that the audience doesn’t consciously notice. If that’s true, Picard VFX Supervisor Jason Zimmerman and his team should be considered some of the best in the business. This week, the accomplished Zimmerman sat down with Deadline to discuss the challenges of working on Star Trek, and the importance of honoring what has come before.
Zimmerman talked about the subtle work of “layering” effects to make sets look futuristic while still looking recognizable, like the sweeping shots of Okinawa or Boston, saying ”I think you first sort of establish the basic geometry and layout of the city, or the location that you’re shooting, Then, you start to go in and dress things to camera, like sky traffic shuttles, holograms, to sort of flesh the world out and make it feel scope-y.”
The 2-time Emmy winner also discussed the importance of the past when creating new effects, telling Deadline ”Working with these canon things, like the [Starship] Enterprise and the Borg cube, it’s always a little bit daunting to be responsible for something that’s so revered, [that’s] been depicted so many times, so what you definitely don’t want to do is go back and start from scratch. You have probably the best amount of research and reference humanly possible for any show, so you definitely start there, and want to make sure that you don’t do anything that doesn’t make any sense. That’s, for us, a very important part of the process, doing our research and checking with everybody who knows the Star Trek universe, to ensure that we’re actually treating these things appropriately.”
Gaming News
by Shane Hoover and Thomas Reynolds
Scopely Supports Black Lives Matter
Last week, we touched on the Star Trek world’s responses to the ongoing protests and social upheaval in the United States, and around the world. This week, another part of the Star Trek gaming universe has shown their support. Scopely, the makers of Star Trek Fleet Command, recently donated $1 Million to the Black Lives Matter Foundation, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and the Equal Justice Initiative. The company stated “The time is now to listen, learn, and act for FOREVER change”
Star Trek Timelines June Events
June is lined up to be a big month for players of Star Trek Timelines. Starting on June 11th, Timelines will be celebrating Pride month. This month’s campaign will focus on DS9’s Lenara Kahn and “Reinforcements” Stamets as featured crew. On top of that, June is also time for the traditional Players Choice Month in Timelines. Players Choice will kick off a Mega-Event based on Voyager’s “Before and After” episode. This event will feature the Nacine, Suspiria, and a brand new Tholian starship. Players Choice month will also feature a theme pack chosen by the players, Homesteader Janeway from the episode “Resolutions”.
