Lista episodi

In our debut episode of "Trek Untold," we chat with a person who knows a few things about dealing with Starfleet, whether it's peaceful negotiations or straight-up scamming them. Kaitlin Hopkins appeared in DS9 and Voyager in two memorable episodes, but beyond that, she has appeared in many other TV shows, movies, and theatrical productions. We take a deep dive into her past to discuss growing up around Hollywood and the theater world, and what led her into acting. From there, we learn about her roles in Trek as the Vorta alien Kilana in the DS9 episode "The Ship" and Dala the grifter in the VOY episode "Live fast and Prosper," her on-screen rapport with Avery Brooks, the differences between the two sets and acting with Brooks and Kate Mulgrew, Jem'Hadar soldiers passing out from the California sun, and the deleted scene from her VOY episode that she wishes was kept in. Plus, working with Angela Lansbury on "Murder, She Wrote," Dick Van Dyke on "Diagnosis Murder," and Jane Seymour on "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," being in the bizarre off-Broadway musical "Bat Boy" and how she met her husband there, becoming head of the musical theater department at Texas State, and her advice for aspiring actors.

Ursaline Bryant played Captain Tryla Scott in TNG, a character who was the fastest officer promoted to captain in Starfleet history. You may remember her from the controversial season one episode, "Conspiracy," which is also one of the oddest entries in the entire Trek series. Ursaline chats with us about her work before and after her time on Trek, what it was like working with Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes, taking her own fall from a phaser blast, eating from a cup of "worms," and being a part of Star Trek history. Plus, being locked in a jail cell as a prostitute with "The Golden Girls," working with Redd Foxx, being trained by the legendary Mildred Burke to have an intense pro wrestling match in "All The Marbles" with Peter Falk, not breaking character on "Seinfeld," and her dramatic roles in "Flood Streets" with Harry Shearer, her love of Billie Holiday, and - who is Calafia?

If you watched "Star Trek: Discovery," you've seen this week's guest a few times - you just didn't know you were looking at him. Harry Judge has played multiple Tellarites in the first season of Disco under heavy prosthetics, including Admiral Gorch and Tevrin Krit. Our interview with him turned into a true master class of how to perform a role while completely covered up and weighed down by crazy costumes and make-up. Harry talks about growing up in Canada, and how he became a Shakespearean trained actor, leading up to his roles in Star Trek. We chat the process of being suited up as an alien, what they don't tell you about wearing prosthetics and special effects make-up, meeting Doug Jones, how to become a Tellarite and his process to transform into character, and working with Rainn Wilson on the Short Trek episode, "The Escape Artist." It's a very in-depth discussion that is an amazing resource for anyone interested in acting.

Sometimes, being typecast in Hollywood means being stuck in an unsavory role that you don't want to do. For some lucky people, they find amazing roles in the same vein, and Deborah May is one of those actresses who has had the joy of playing a strong female protagonist in much of her work. On today's episode, we talk about how Deborah went from beauty pageant queen to actress, and how that road led her to two appearances on Star Trek series - First, her role as Haneek in the haunting DS9 episode "Sanctuary," and then as the matriarch Lyris in the VOY episode "Favorite Son." We discuss being cast in these roles, the differences between performing with Avery Brooks and Kate Mulgrew, her on-screen rapport with Nana Visitor, and working with her friend Rene Auberjonois. We also hear about how Deborah was ALMOST Captain Janeway in Voyager, and what Kate had to say to Deborah when she found out. Plus, working with Betty White on "The Golden Girls" and Patty Duke in her autobiographical movie "Call Me Anna," Patrick Fabian, who would go on to be in "Better Call Saul," and playing another powerful female leader as Natania on "The Walking Dead."

How many actors can say they appeared on TOS and VOY? Not many and today's guest is one of them. Iona Morris is the daughter of "Mission Impossible" star Greg Morris, and that led her to her acting debut on the TOS season one episode, "Miri." From there, acting would take a backseat to other things, but all roads eventually led back to performing in front of a lens, and Iona would make her return to Trek in the VOY two-parter "Workforce" over 30 years after her first appearance. We discuss being cast in these roles, what it was like on the set of TOS and how William Shatner was with kids, the on-screen moment from that episode that wasn't acting, sharing the screen with Robert Duncan McNeill in VOY, and what went wrong during her performance in that episode. Plus, Iona talks about her enormous voiceover career in anime before it was in the mainstream, becoming the voice of Storm on the X-Men animated series from the 90s, being directed by horror icon Wes Craven, the valuable lesson she learned from Angela Lansbury on "Murder, She Wrote," acting on "Moesha" and "Homeboys in Outer Space," and being a part of the hit ABC series "Blackish."

Today's guest is an invisible warrior who you have seen on-screen plenty of times, but rarely his face. Tim Storms is a stunt performer who appeared in several episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise," but you may remember his most recent work as Sir Patrick Stewart's stunt double in "Star Trek: Picard." Storms has been doubling for Picard since 2015, first on "Blunt Talk" and then following him to "Logan" before joining him once more for Picard. As we learn today, Storms actually met Stewart in his very first professional stunt gig on the set of Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights!" We learn about how Tim went from gymnastics to stunts, his first gig, training Laurence Fishburne for "The Matrix," kicking Scott Bakula for real on "Enterprise," and how the costumes and make-up made his stunts harder to do. Plus, hanging around with Hugh Jackman on "Logan," trying to stop Patrick Stewart from attempting his own stunts, surviving that big explosion from the pilot episode of "Picard," and his best advice for aspiring stunt performers.

There's one character who is always in any episode of Star Trek, but always seems to be overlooked - the computer. Today on "Trek Untold," we speak with Julianne Grossman, who is the voice of the ship on "Discovery." Julianne tells us about how she got into voiceover work, how she was cast in Discovery, and if she ever had the chance to meet any of the actors from the show that her voice is in, but her physical person isn't. Plus, working with Mel Brooks on "Space Balls: The Animated Series," her favorite characters to voice, and her best advice for aspiring VO performers.

When we talk about character actors, we are talking about the working backbone of the TV and film industry. Today, we are joined by the highly prolific Spencer Garrett, who holds over 200 acting credits to his name on a resume that continues to grow each day. One of Spencer's first roles was actually his appearance on TNG in the episode "The Drumhead," where he played Crewman Tarses in a very memorable episode. We discuss acting with Patrick Stewart, Jean Simmons, being directed by Jonathan Frakes, wearing the pointy ears, and what was cut from the episode. He followed that up years later as a Starfleet hologram named Weiss in the VOY two-parter "Flesh and Blood," where we chat about working with Robert Picardo and Jeffrey Yagher, the surreal set filled with tons of aliens, and how sick he became from filming the opening scene of that episode. Plus, growing up in a Hollywood house as a third-generation actor, his family connection to Star Trek, more Angela Lansbury stories, working with Robert Duvall, being impaled by a Christmas tree on "Supernatural," sharing the screen with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood," becoming Sean Hannity in "Bombshell," the fun pandemic project Spencer and his actor friends are working on during their quarantine lockdown, and more.

The technology of Star Trek is one of the most fascinating parts of the shows, but since we live in the 21st century, creating futuristic tech still requires contemporary methods. Today we speak with Master Propmaker Michael Moore, who has been building props for Hollywood for decades. In this episode, Michael talks to us exclusively about his work on Star Trek movie props, which he began as an assistant during the fourth TOS movie, and continued to work on through all of the four TNG films and the first JJ Abrams movie. Michael explains how he became interested in making props and how he turned his passion into his profession, how you define a prop when it comes to Star Trek, stories about pieces from the TOS and TNG movies including Spock's anti-gravity boots, phasers, commbadges, tricorders, borg technology, what was his worst day on set, and much more. Plus, how 3-D printing and COVID-19 has changed the landscape for prop making.

You may not immediately know the name Tracee Lee Cocco, but once you see her face in a Starfleet uniform, you'll find her popping up again and again. Tracee appeared in over a hundred episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as Lt. Jae, and reprised her role for three of the four TNG movies. She's also been on DS9 and Voyager as different alien species. There are a handful of actors like Tracee who made a career of being in the background aboard the Enterprise, and she has many tales to tell of her time on set. Plus, meeting Sharon Stone while dressed as an Antican, walking the streets of LA as a Ferengi, The infamous Riker chase blooper, doing a fight scene with Pamela Anderson, and being in a Snoop Dogg music video. Most importantly, were Lt. Jae and Captain Picard an item? Find out in this edition of "Trek Untold".

It's always a special day when we have the opportunity to chat with an actor from the original Star Trek series, especially one with a resume like today's guest. Carl Held appeared in the first season episode "The Return of The Archons" as Lt. Lindstrom, a character with a decent amount of screen time, but whose face was covered up by Shatner in most scenes, and whose sub-plot was completely eliminated from the final cut. You can bet we get to the bottom of why that happened. Growing up during the Great Depression and serving in the US military, his first big stage performance in the late 1950s, where he met his wife and fellow Trek Alumni Sarah Marshall and some actor you may have heard of - William Shatner - who he understudied for. He also explains why he believes his casting in the episode was a mistake by Gene Roddenberry, and why so many of his scenes were cut from the episode. Plus, getting a ride home from Deforest Kelley and being beaned in the head by a rock in the show. Plus, what he learned from Raymond Burr on "Perry Mason," his appearance on the original Outer Limits with Martin Landau and Shirley Knight, sharing the stage with Patrick Stewart in repertory with the Royal Shakespeare Company of London, working with Sean Connery in a James Bond movie, his appearance on the "Incredible Hulk" TV show, the mystery behind his many screen-names including Christopher Held and Carl Byrd, his favorite experience filming a movie, and much more.

Walker Brandt fought through a troubled childhood to get on the road towards some amazing experiences thanks to her acting career, and today she shares many of these entertaining and life-changing stories with us. Walker appeared in the fifth season TNG episode titled "The First Duty", playing the role of Cadet Jean Hajar in the first episode to take us to Starfleet Academy. In this episode, she shared the screen with Patrick Stewart, Wil Wheaton, and Robert Duncan McNeill before he played Tom Paris on "Star Trek Voyager", while her crewmates stand trial for an accident gone horribly wrong where the students must decide what is more important - their careers or the truth. We discuss why Walker felt a personal connection to Cadet Hajar and how that affected her portrayal of the character, watching cartoons with Wil Wheaton, and other memories from her time in the Star Trek universe. Plus, what she learned about acting from Uta Hagen, Larry Moss, and Bruno Kirby, working with Jake Gyllenhaal and Billy Crystal in "City Slickers", meeting Nelson Mandela with Martin Sheen in Africa and touring Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall while working on a German TV show, and being a part of the final season of Beverly Hills 90210. And, hear about Walker's autobiographical book about self-discovery "Awaken: Discovering Yourself Through the Light of Your Innocence" and her advice to you to lead a better life today.

At 82 years old, today's guest on "Trek Untold" proves that age is just a number as long as you keep learning and growing. A classically trained actor, Garth Pillsbury appeared in two episodes of the original Star Trek series, "Mirror, Mirror" and "The Cloud Minders". Beyond Trek, Pillsbury went on to appear in cult hits and exploitation films, eventually discovering photography and cinematography which put him down new career paths. We discuss why William Shatner didn't want him "punching" him during a scene, working on "Beyond The Valley of The Dolls" with Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert, fixing up Marlon Brando's house, hanging out with Robert Mitchum at a party, appearing in one of Kevin Costner's earliest movies as a lead in "Stacy's Knights", becoming a professional photographer with pics in Playboy and Penthouse, his advice to aspiring actors, and more.

Today's guest is only one degree of separation away from Patrick Stewart, and Kermit, the Frog. Juliana Donald got her start in Hollywood with a major role in "The Muppets Take Manhattan." She followed it up with appearances in many other shows and films en route to appearing three times in the Star Trek universe. Juliana first appeared in the season three episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" titled "A Matter of Perspective," and followed it up a few years later in the third season "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode where she seductively rubbed Quark's ears in "Prophet Motive." Her last appearance saw her in the bizarre interactive video game, "Star Trek: Borg." We discuss working on one of the hardest to shoot episodes of TNG that was ultimately panned, being directed on DS9 by Rene Auberjonois in his first time under that role, a hilarious story about Armin Shimmerman, and why the Borg video game was the death knell for her career in Trek. Plus, Juliana's theatre background, working on her first film with Jim Henson and The Muppets, working with Woody Allen and Mia Farrow on "The Purple Rose of Cairo" doing voiceover work in Anime before it was as popular as it is today, being on an episode of "Murder She Wrote" with Angela Lansbury, Roddy McDowall, Bill Maher, Dee Wallace, and Brad Dourif, working on "Walker, Texas Ranger" with Chuck Norris and Sheree Wilson, "The X-Files," and Dennis Franz on "NYPD Blue," and much more.

One of the main reasons I became such a big Star Trek lover was because of the action figures, and I had the pleasure of talking to one of the people whose hands were responsible for making those toys. Scott Hensey began working on the Playmates Star Trek series on day one, sculpting the first wave of figures in 1992 and remained crafting them until the end of the line. Scott explains the ins and outs of making Trek toys as well as other properties he worked on, and answers fan-submitted questions like why the figures were posed oddly, why Riker's shirt was torn up, which figures he always wanted to make but never could, and much more. Plus, what happened when WWF wrestlers got their hands on his LJN prototypes, what Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones said about their "Men In Black" figures, and stories about working on TMNT, Toxic Crusaders, Earthworm Jim, Skeleton Warriors, The Coneheads and other toy lines.

Hilary Shepard has terrorized teens with attitudes, did aerobics with Bea Arthur and Betty White, and tried to seduce Starfleet officers, among other accomplishments through her diverse career. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" fans will remember her as ensign Hoya from "The Ship," and her two appearances as Lauren, the lusty genetically enhanced genius from "Statistical Probabilities" and "Chrysalis," but many fans like myself know her best as the evil Divatox from "Power Rangers Turbo". We talk about dancing with Alexander Siddig and singing with The Jack Pack, how she got the role and what inspired her performance, and being directed by Anson Williams AKA Pottsy from "Happy Days". Plus, memories of her all-girl band "American Girls," working with young Johnny Depp in one of his earliest roles "Private Resort," being an aerobics instructor on "The Golden Girls" and hanging out with Jon Stamos on "Full House," being an evil villain in a Meatloaf music video, grinding on Steve Carrell in "The 40-Year Old Virgin", and making board games with her BFF Daryl Hannah. And of course, some talk about arguably her most famous role as DIvatox in "Power Rangers Turbo" and a strange connection with Brad Pitt's first movie role (that Hilary was a part of) and Power Rangers.

Dana Sparks has accomplished a lot in Hollywood and has an extensive resume to prove it. Fans of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" will remember Dana from her appearances in "Contagion" as Ensign Williams. We discuss her memories of the TNG set, wearing the uniform, interacting with Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Wil Wheaton on the bridge of the Enterprise. We also chat about working with Julie Andrews and Jack Lemmon in one of her earliest roles, working on "Falcon Crest," fond memories of Angela Lansbury on "Murder, She Wrote," having caviar dropped in her hair by Bob Saget on "Full House," remembering an obscure show called "Gabriel's Fire" that starred James Earl Jones, and her time in the peculiar soap opera "Passions."

For the first time on TREK UNTOLD, we are joined by three guests. Up first, we speak with Angelique and Steven Fawcette, the creative team behind the new sci-fi parody movie and Star Trek homage, "Unbelievable!!!!!" which features over 40 actors from five different Star Trek series, along with Michael Madsen, Robert Davi, and Snoop Dogg. Oh, and did we mention a marionette Captain Kirk made by the same team who did the puppets for "Team America"? Yeah, that's there too. The Fawcettes talk to us about working with so many different Trek alumni, the kismet moment that led to Michael Madsen being in it, and give us some behind-the-scenes stories of making the film. Following that, we speak with Gerald Fried, the last living composer who worked on the original Star Trek series. At 92, Mr. Fried is just as sharp and has a lifetime of great stories, and came out of retirement to make the score for "Unbelievable!!!!!". Gerald composed five pieces for Star Trek for the episodes "Cat's Paw," "Shore Leave," Friday's Child," "The Paradise Syndrome," and the unforgettable and often-referenced "Amok Time" - yes, he made THAT song. His resume includes around 200 films and shows, and we discuss a few of these in addition to Trek, including scoring Stanley Kubrick's early films, Gilligan's Island, Roots, and more.

It's no easy task to put on prosthetics in the Star Trek universe, but Avaah Blackwell is one actress that is up for the task. She went from a model to actress and is now on the road to being a stunt performer. You would know Avaah from her role in "Star Trek: Discovery," but you've never seen her face since she plays a peculiar looking alien who serves aboard the Discovery called the Osnullus. Avaah discusses the strange circumstances that led her to win the role of Osnullus, what it was like wearing the head for the first time, advice she received from Doug Jones, working with Jason Isaacs and Anson Mount, why she says the DISCO set is one of the best she has been on, and more Star Trek stories. Plus, we talk about her international education in acting, a few of the interesting short films Avaah appeared in, her time on "12 Monkeys", making "Fan Girl Fights" with her friend, and her new career in stunt performing, including her time in an MMA movie and on the upcoming "Jupiter's Legacy" show.

The true history of the original Star Trek is one that has only really been unraveled in the last 20 years, and that is predominantly thanks to today's guest, Marc Cushman. Marc is the author of "These Are The Voyages", six books that chronicle the history of the original Star Trek series with the most in-depth research ever. Marc tells us the story of how he became connected with Dorothy Fontana which led him to meeting Gene Roddenberry, and ultimately gaining access to Gene's archives to create these encyclopedic works that tell the full story of Star Trek. Marc answers a ton of listener-submitted questions and explains what Gene Roddenberry did before he became a TV show writer, how involved Lucille Ball really was in getting Star Trek on air and why she never did a cameo on the show, how Matt Jeffries designed the original enterprise and what the acronym NCC in NCC-1701 means, William Shatner stories, and behind the stories on fan-favorite episodes like concerns of plagiarism on "Arena" and the challenges of filming the infamous fight scene with the Gorn , "Shore Leave", "The Trouble with Tribbles", tales of John Drew Barrymore filming "The Alternative Factor" and what storyline the censors forced them to remove, and the drama behind "The City on The Edge of Forever" along with some great Harlan Ellison stories.

The lower decks crew aboard a starship rarely get the recognition they deserve, so today, we get to chat with a Starfleet member whose quick thinking saved the entire Enterprise. Alex Datcher played Ensign Tait on the season 7 opener "Descent Part 2" in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and it was a dream come true for her. Datcher walks us through the audition process, what it was like being on set and working with Gates McFadden, and more memories of her time onboard the Enterprise. Alex also discusses her first time being on a TV show in "The Young and The Restless," working on the "Beauty and the Beast" TV series with Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman, The Cynthia Rothrock action film "Rage and Honor," being in a Perry Mason movie with Raymond Burr, Wesley Snipes stories from "Passenger 57" and how her previous job as a flight attendant helped her nail the audition, and what the worst role she ever had was, and much more.

The Star Trek universe is nothing without its aliens, and these unique races are brought to life by some of the best makeup teams in Hollywood. Today we chat with an award-winning artist who worked on Star Trek for many years and was part of the Emmy award winning team on "Star Trek Deep Space Nine", Thomas E. Surprenant. Thomas explains how he first became interested in special FX make-up and how he transformed his passion into a profession, info he received from the legendary Chris Mueller Jr and Charles Schram, behind the scenes stories from "Donnie Darko", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and his embarrassing tale with Luke Perry. From there, we talk Trek, and Thomas explains how he got hired by Michael Westmore for the shows, what it was like working on TNG, DS9 and Generations simultaneously, what the intensive process is for making an actor become an alien, which surprising make-up he did the most on Star Trek that you would never expect, working on "Blood Oath" and Klingon Make-up (and his thoughts on DISCO Klingons), and the Emmy episodes "Distant Voices" and "The Visitor" with Alexander Siddig and Tony Todd. Plus, nightmare stories of his worst day on set, the best advice he ever received from Michael Westmore, and what you should do if you want to break into the make-up industry.

With a new season of "Star Trek Discovery" launching this week, it makes perfect sense for us to chat with a character actor from the series. Today, we have the prolific Conrad Coates, who you may recall as Admiral Terral, a Vulcan who appeared in four episodes during season 1. Conrad talks to us about the hush-hush process for being cast on DISCO, what he thought of the Vulcan ears, how to effectively act as an alien species who can't emote, and what he did to make the role his own, an untold secret about the Discovery Starfleet uniforms, how he filmed the hologram sequences with Jason Isaacs, and more of his great memories from the show. Plus, being on "Degrassi" and working with Aubrey Graham AKA Drake, being on Defiance as Tev'gin, time on the obscure "Car 54, Where Are You?" film, working with Steve Carrell in "Welcome to Marwen," being Bartik in "Tron Legacy" and "Tron Uprising" alongside Michael Sheen, the Conrad Coates acting academy, and teases us about who he plays in the upcoming Ubisoft game "Far Cry 6", along with much more.

Today's guest is a man whose face you've seen hundreds of times in movies and TV shows, but you probably never knew his name until now. Erick Avari boasts a resume of big appearances in tons of well-known things, and three of those are Star Trek. Erick first appeared in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode from season 5 titled "Unification Part 1" as the Klingon warrior B'ijik, and then returned to the franchise in season 3 of Deep Space Nine as Vedek Yarka in "Destiny." He followed that up with one more Trek appearance in the season 1 episode of Enterprise titled "Terra Nova" as Jamin. We discuss how he got these roles, the makeup he had to wear for them, acting with Nana Visitor, Avery Brooks, Scott Bakula, how different each of these shows were, and much more. Plus, Erick tells us the story of growing up in India and coming to America where he first discovered his affinity for Star Trek, his family's lineage in stage and cinema, some of Erick's Broadway and theater career, including his time with Val Kilmer in "Tis A Pity She's A Whore", behind the scenes stories from "Stargate," and memories from "Mr. Deeds," "Murder, She Wrote," "The Beast," "Encino Man" and the obscure and bizarre film "Nothing Lasts Forever."

Sheila McCarthy is one of the best actresses you've likely never heard of - because most of her career has been in Canada. She's had plenty of prominent roles in the US too, and in 2019 she appeared in the second season episode of "Star Trek Discovery" titled "New Eden" as Amesha the All-Mother. We discuss the secretive audition process for DISCO, working with Sonequa Martin-Green and Anson Mount, being directed by Jonathan Frakes, and other fond memories of acting in the episode. We delve into Sheila's past, as she remembers what she learned under the tutelage of the legendary Uta Hagen, lessons from the Second City Improv Troupe and run-ins with John Candy and Robin Williams, her breakthrough role in "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing" and how it was interconnected to so many other roles in her career, including "Stepping Out" with Liza Minelli. Plus, Disney's "Paradise," screen-testing with Kevin Costner for "Field of Dreams," working with Bruce Willis in "Die Hard 2" and her latest popular role as Agnes in "The Umbrella Academy" on Netflix alongside Mary J. Blige and Cameron Britton. And of course, we cover some Canadian shows like being on "The Littlest Hobo," "Emily of New Moon," and "Little Mosque on The Prairie," and stories from the stage like "Say Hello to Harvey" and a punk rock version of "Godspell."

It's time for me to turn into a fanboy on the show, and I hope the same happens to you when you listen to this interview with Max Grodénchik. You may remember Max best as Rom from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," the brother of Quark who rose up from being a bumbling buffoon into being married to the lovely Leeta, was the father of the first Ferengi in Starfleet, and ultimately became the Grand Nagus of Ferenginar. Max is one of my favorite character actors of all time, and Rom is one of my favorite characters in all of Star Trek, so we talk in-depth about his experiences on DS9, including wearing the makeup, stories about Armin Shimerman and Aron Eisenberg, how he developed the voice and mannerisms of Rom, and Max even critiques my Rom voice. Before DS9, Max played two other Ferengi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in the episodes "Captain's Holiday" and "The Perfect Mate," and shares memories of working with Patrick Stewart and Famke Janssen, as well as his reaction to the first time he wore the Ferengi makeup. Plus, working with Tiny Ron in "The Rocketeer" and Whoopi Goldberg in "Sister Act," thoughts on the Rom action figure from Playmates, baseball stories from "Take Me Out to the Holosuite," his deleted scene from "Star Trek: Insurrection," Max's singing career with "The Rat Pack" of Star Trek, and much more.

Comics and Star Trek have a long history together, one that continues to this day. Nearly every major comic company has held the license, from Marvel, DC, Malibu Comics, and today it resides under IDW Publishing. In this edition of "Trek Untold," we speak with the writer for the most recent Trek mini-series coming out that just came out this week, Dave Baker. Dave is the writer of "Star Trek Voyager: Seven's Reckoning," drawn by Angel Hernandez and colored by Ronda Pattison. We discuss his history of comics, the road he took to become a professional writer, and his odd history of becoming a Star Trek fan. Baker talks us through his latest Trek comic, which is all about Seven of Nine, writing dialogue for familiar characters like Captain Janeway and Tuvok, creating new alien races, and working with CBS to have the comic approved. We also spend some time discussing his work for the "Star Trek Waypoint Special" in 2018, which features a story he wrote that was drawn by Nicole Goux. Dave also tells us about some of his other comic work and an upcoming project you may be interested in, as well as some tips for how to break into the comic industry.

Lycia Naff is known best to Star Trek fans for her two appearances in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as Ensign Sonya Gomez from the second season episodes "Q Who" and "Samaritan Snare". Meant to be a love interest for Geordi LaForge, things didn't work out for Ensign Gomez after spilling her hot chocolate on Captain Picard. Lycia tells us the behind-the-scenes story about what happened to her character, and what happened to the third episode she was meant to appear in that would have changed Geordi's character. Plus, memories of seeing the Borg in their debut appearance, working with the cast and crew including having to spill hot liquids on Patrick Stewart, and why she believes Ensign Gomez never returned. You may also recognize Lycia from her role in "Total Recall" as the three-breasted mutant hooker on Mars. Lycia recalls working with Paul Verhoeven and Arnold Schwarzenegger in this iconic and memorable role, with some happy stories and one "explosive" tale. Lycia explains why she left acting and pursued journalism, leading to one of her biggest stories, when she broke news about the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations. We talk about the investigation, and the fallout from this story, as well as how it changed the landscape of modern feminism. Plus, horror stories of working with Debbie Allen on the "Fame" TV series, sharing the screen with Daryl Hannah in "Clan of The Cave Bear", and riding motorcycles and killing the undead in the B-movie "Chopper Chicks in Zombietown".

If you're ever on DS9 and need a place to wet your whistle, run - don't walk - to Quark's Bar. Today, we speak with Armin Shimerman, most famously known to Trek fans as Quark from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." He's here to answer fan-submitted questions and discuss his new book, "Illyria: Betrayal of Angels," the first in a historical-fiction trilogy starring a young William Shakespeare. Armin, who is also an adjunct professor of Shakespeare, talks to us about the long process of writing this book and how to better understand the language of the writing from this era. Armin tells us about his Star Trek: The Next Generation" debut, which was actually in "Haven" as the Betazoid Gift Box, and then discusses his first time as the Ferengi in "The Last Outpost." He has some big regrets about this appearance and tells us why he thinks he almost killed the Ferengi. Armin breathed new life into the Ferengi years later when he played Quark on DS9 for seven seasons and shares some stories about his time on the promenade. We learn about wearing the makeup and prosthetics, why Quark never had a flange on the back of his head like other Ferengi, thoughts on his Playmates action figure and filming the TV commercial for those toys, and memories of his appearance on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" when he appeared live on their show in full makeup. Plus, memories of Rene Auberjonois, his favorite performers to work with, if the Ferengi were meant to be representations of the Jewish people, voicing Andrew Ryan in the "Bioshock" series, and working with Sammo Hung on "Martial Law".

If you collect anything from Star Trek, chances are you have at least one of those Hero Collector die-cast starships somewhere in it. Today, we're speaking with the man responsible for that line, Ben Robinson. Ben is the head of Hero Collector, a division of Eaglemoss, and has been the man behind their Star Trek, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, WWE, Aliens, Ghostbusters, Marvel and DC figure collections, among other licenses. He's also an author of over a dozen books on Star Trek, including a new one being released this holiday season. Ben discusses growing up in England and what led him towards writing, working on the Star Trek Fact Files and Official Star Trek Magazines, and some memorable moments from interviews with cast members. We also learn about the process behind making the Hero Collector starship line and chat about the toy industry to see why Trek toys seem to struggle in big chain stores. A slew of new books just came out, and we talk about them, including "Star Trek Nerd Search: Quibbles with Tribbles," "Star Trek Cocktails," "Mr. Spock's Little Book of Mindfulness," and Ben's latest book "Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration." Plus, a look at an unproduced Hero Collector product, and what are the plans for Hero Collector in 2021 with Star Trek? We have a tease for something massive on the horizon that's about to be announced, and we have the first bit of info about it.

Get a taste of some real frontier medicine with the one and only Alexander Siddig, AKA Dr. Julian Bashir from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". Alexander is here to promote his newest movie, SKYLINES, the finale of the "Skyline" series where he played General Radford, and he had a lot of fun making this movie. Of course, we spend plenty of time discussing his time on DS9, including stories about the infamous episode "Move Along Home," memories of Avery Brooks and working on "Past Tense," directing "Profit and Lace," Daphne Ashbrook in "Melora," Andrew Robinson as Garak, thoughts on his first Star Trek action figure, and more. Plus, memories of Chadwick Boseman from "21 Bridges", making realistic three-dimensional Arabic characters in media, and memories of the first professional gig he ever had - "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid".

This week, we take a trip back in time, but not too far back, so we don't get in trouble with any temporal agents. We're revisiting some stories from past guests this year who appeared in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," including our episodes with Ursaline Bryant, Spencer Garrett, Erick Avari, Juliana Donald, Alex Datcher, Lycia Naff, and Armin Shimerman. It's a great way to catch up on the show if you're a new listener or a nice way to remember some excellent tales we heard from these wonderful actors in 2020.

It's been a great year for "Trek Untold" when it came to guests from DS9, and this week, we revisit a few of my favorite conversations from performers who I interviewed earlier in 2020. Listen to great stories from Kaitlin Hopkins, Phil Morris, Juliana Donald, Erick Avari, Hilary Shepard, Chase Masterson, Max Grodenchik, and Armin Shimerman, and get caught up on some of the wonderful memories these folks had from their time on Deep Space Nine.

In the decorated annals of Star Trek memes, few are as strong and enduring as the sex-candle ghost from the seventh season TNG episode "Sub Rosa." This week, we are honored to have that spirit take physical form, as we speak with the actor who brought Ronin to life, Duncan Regehr. While many fans know him best from TNG, he was also Shakaar in three episodes of Star Trek DS9. We discuss both of those roles, including his thoughts on "Sub Rosa" and all of the memes, working with Gates McFadden and a take for that episode that was too hot for TV, acting with Nana Visitor, and why Shakaar didn't appear as much as he could have in the series, and much more. We also discuss some of Duncan's other memorable roles, including Count Dracula in "The Monster Squad," playing Zorro with another Star Trek alumni Henry Darrow in the 90's Zorro TV show, his portrayal of Errol Flynn in "My Wicked, Wicked Ways," and much more. In addition to being a classically-trained veteran actor, Duncan is also a writer, a poet, a painter, and so much more. We delve into the many passions of our guest and learn all about this very fascinating human being who is so much more than merely being the sex-candle ghost.

Stunts make the show, and this week, we dive deep into the world of action for Star Trek. We are joined by Dennis Madalone, the stunt coordinator for "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Deep Space Nine" and "Voyager." Dennis first appeared in Star Trek 6 as a Klingon and eventually got a chance to work on TNG, leading him to become a stunt coordinator on the show, and eventually, most of the series during the '90s. We talk about how stunts and action scenes get put together, doubling for actors, the most dangerous stunt he ever did on Trek, the worst day on the job as a Jem'Hadar, who was the best at doing their own stunts, and more from his time in Trek. Beyond star trek, Dennis has fallen off tall buildings or been hit by cars for shows and films like "The Greatest American Hero," where he doubled for William Katt, "Darkman," "The Guyver," "Army of Darkness," "Pulp Fiction," "The X-Files," and over a hundred other credited projects. We talk about a few of those today, as well as the time he launched Johnny Carson 20 feet in the air with explosions, and of course, we chat about that. Plus, Dennis became mainstream for a bit thanks to a certain music video he made called "America, We Stand As One," but we will get to that a little later in our conversation, so make sure to listen all the way to the end.

Jeff Russo has gone from rock bands in NYC to composing scores for Hollywood, and Trek fans will know him best for creating the music for "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Star Trek: Picard." Before he started scoring soundtracks, Jeff was part of the Grammy-nominated band TONIC, whose music you can hear in "Scream 2" and "American Pie," and their music videos have millions of views on Youtube. His journey in music led him to score TV shows like "Fargo," "Lucifer," and "The Umbrella Academy," where he got to work with Gerard Way from "My Chemical Romance," as well as the world of Star Trek. We talk about his experiences working on these shows, his philosophy on making music, creating the sounds of the Star Trek universe, working with Isa Briones on "Blue Skies," his fandom for Star Trek, and his reaction to what happens in "Star Trek: Picard," and how the COVID-19 Pandemic changed how TV shows were scored, especially during season 3 of Discovery.

This week we're speaking with Steve Neill, who is known for his special effects work on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," specifically making Leonard Nimoy's Vulcan ears and the makeup for the Rhaandarites. He also worked on some of the other Trek films, along with the pilot for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" titled "Encounter at Farpoint" for a scene that was ultimately unused. Beyond Trek, Steve's worked on "Laser Blast," "Ghostbusters," "Fright Night," "The Stuff," "Return of Swamp Thing," "Puppet Master," and more. This includes a McDonald's commercial with a unique Star Trek connection, as Doug Jones was Mac Tonight, and Steve made the mask for him. These days, Steve continues to make models and masks for himself and for fans to purchase, including a series of Star Trek TOS characters. He's gained recognition for his custom builds of enormous versions of the original Enterprise and a 1:1 scale replica of the original captain's chair. Learn all about this interesting SFX artist whose decades of knowledge and experience go hand in hand with his love of the craft.

Trekkies will remember Billy Van Zandt from one memorable appearance in the Star Trek franchise, but you may know him better for his acclaimed work as a writer and producer for TV and theater, alongside his writing partner Jane Milmore. Born in New Jersey, Billy headed to Hollywood to pursue an acting career inspired by Lucille Ball. Logically, his first stop was Lucille's home, and he has a story about that, as well as working with her and Gale Gordon on "Life with Lucy" and later producing an Emmy award-winning CBS TV special about her. He is also known for his roles in "Jaws 2" with Rob Scheider and "TAPS" with Tom Cruise, Sean Pen, and George C. Scott, which we spend some time chatting about today. Billy stepped into the world of Trek in 1979 as the Rhaadarite in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and talks about being cast in the film, his thoughts on the new look of Trek and their uniforms, memories of the principal cast, and his extensive makeup process with Ve Neill to become this new type of alien. We also discuss his TV writing career with Jane, which includes "Newhart," "Martin," "The Wayans Bros," "The Hughleys," "Daddy Dearest," "Suddenly Susan," and others. Billy has great stories of working with Martin Lawrence, Bob Newhart, Shawn and Marlon Wayans, Richard Lewis, and Don Rickles. Plus, his stage career with some of his notable plays like "You've Got Hate Mail!", "The Property Known as Garland" and "High School Reunion: The Musical." This week's show is dedicated to the memory of Jane Milmore, who passed away one year ago on this date.

Trekkies may remember Tim as Lt. Daniel Kwan from the season 7 episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" titled "Eye of the Beholder," but he was also Vin Asunder in the "Star Trek Away Team" video game and has one more surprising Star Trek role that you have to hear about. We discuss the makeup process to become a Napien, behind the scenes stories of Jonathan Frakes and Gates McFadden, and other fond memories from filming the episode, and the reaction after. Tim also tells us what it was like for an Asian-American actor trying to break into Hollywood in the early '90s, his time on the Hollywood Squares set while filming an episode of "The Nanny," memories of sharing the stage with Michael Forest AKA Apollo from the Star Trek TOS episode "Who Mourns Adonis?", working on "Bosch," "Saved By The Bell: The New Class" and "All-American Girl" with Margaret Cho - a story that involves Garrett Wang from "Star Trek: Voyager." Plus, he explains why he left Hollywood for seven years and what made him decide to return and come back better than ever.

Susan Diol's acting career spans dozens of TV shows and theatrical works, but Trekkies know her best as the Vidiian hematologist, Dr. Danara Pel, from two episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager" titled "Lifesigns" and "Resolutions." Before her time on Voyager, she appeared as a scientist named Carmen Davila on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in "Silicon Avatar." However, her character didn't make it past the opening act for reasons you'll understand when you watch the episode. Susan was also one of the actresses initially considered for the role of Captain Janeway. Throughout her career, Susan has worked with Andy griffin, Dick van Dyke, Megan Mullaly, John Larroquette, Candace Bergan, Jerry Seinfeld, and Mark Harmon, to name a few. She has performed on Broadway and in LA and worked with some legends in the theater. We discuss her time on TNG and VOY, including her memories of Robert Picardo, wearing the heavy makeup and prosthetics to become a Vidiian with the Phage, and how some of her memorable scenes came together. Sci-fi fans may also remember her on Quantum Leap, as she was part of an alternate ending for the series finale, which we spend some time reminiscing about, too, along with other roles. Plus, acting onstage with Uta Hagen, Victor Garber, and John Cullum, stories of character actor Roy Brocksmith who Trekkies may remember from the TNG episode "Peak Performance," time with Chuck Norris while filming "Walker, Texas Ranger," her two-parter on "Night Court" where she almost married Richard Moll, and her date with Brent Spiner. Yes, we are spilling the tea.

Without today's guest, the universe of Star Trek would sound very different. Marc Okrand is the man behind Klingon, Vulcan, Kelpien, and languages for other shows and films. Before his time on Trek, Marc earned a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in indigenous languages of the west coast of America, and was a post-doctoral fellow in the Anthropology Department of the Smithsonian Institute. We learn about how Marc became connected to the Star Trek universe thanks to his work on TV during the early days of closed captioning, and what he contributed to the Vulcan language in "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" and the creation of the Klingon language in "Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock". There, Marc worked directly with star and director Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Lloyd on-set to make sure the lines were correct. Marc continued to expand on the Klingon language through the years, contributing to other Star Trek films and TV shows, and later created the Kelpien language for "Star Trek: Discovery." His work also includes the Atlantean language for the Disney animated film "Atlantis" and discusses the rumor that he was the inspiration for the main character Milo's look. He's also written a few books on speaking Klingon and is always figuring out new words and phrases for fans and shows alike. We have an in-depth discussion on how a language is created and how to make a fictional one sound real. No stone is left unturned on this episode of "Trek Untold," so get ready for a lesson on linguistics and Star Trek like you've never heard before.

Dey Young, Actress from Star Trek TNG, DS9 and Enterprise Trek fans will remember Dey Young best from her roles as Hannah Bates in the TNG episode "Masterpiece Society," Arissa from the DS9 episode "A Simple Investigation," and Keyla from ENT in "Two Days and Two Nights." Dey tells us stories about working with Levar Burton, Rene Auberjonois, and Scott Bakula, what it's like to not only kiss a changeling but be the first character to sleep with Odo, and why Arissa is one of the highlights of her acting career. We also discuss the art that Dey makes today, which is sculpting beautiful works in bronze and marble. Plus, stories from "Rock and Roll High School" with The Ramones, acting with William Shatner in "TJ Hooker" and again decades later in "Boston Legal," her infamous moment in "Pretty Woman" with Julia Roberts, and more.

The Benzites are one of my favorite aliens in Star Trek, and on this episode of "Trek Untold," we speak with the man behind the makeup of the very first one ever seen onscreen, John Putch. Putch was in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" twice, first as Mordock in the first season episode "Coming of Age" and returned as Mendon in "A Matter of Honor" in season two. We learn about the makeup process and origins of this alien and what it was like working with Wil Wheaton, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and others from TNG. John was also in the opening scenes of the "Star Trek: Generations" movie as a journalist with a video camera running on his head. He was there for when William Shatner, James Doohan, and Walter Koenig boarded the Enterprise-B with Alan Ruck, and he has A LOT of Shatner stories to tell you about. Plus, stories of his mother Jean Stapleton AKA Edith Bunker from "All in The Family" and growing up around Norman Lear, Bea Arthur, Sherman Hemsley, Bill Macy, and others, being on the original "One Day At A Time," "Jaws 3-D", his work today as a director for many well-known films and television shows, including tips on how to be a micro-budget filmmaker.

Stunt performers are some of the most fascinating people in Hollywood to listen to, and our guest on this episode is no exception to the rule. Tom Morga first appeared in 1979 as a double for Leonard Nimoy in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and worked in nearly all of the TOS movies. From there, he joined the crew of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as a stunt performer and double, as well as assistant stunt coordinator alongside Dennis Madalone. Tom worked on TNG, DS9, VOY, Enterprise, and the Nemesis film. He is the "most seen stunt performer" in all of Star Trek, playing nearly every alien you can name, and has taken punches and done falls with the best of them. If you check his Memory Alpha page, it literally says "Too many to list". In addition to Trek, we also discuss some of his other work in stunts on a resume with over 100 productions, including his time as Harold Ramis' stunt double in "Ghostbusters," working with Jackie Chan in his first feature film in the US, Gene Lebell and Rita Egleston stories, being part of an award-winning fight scene in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and working on the Academy Award-winning film "The Artist" from 2011, and much more.

Ian Lake appeared in two episodes of the third season of "Star Trek: Discovery" as Tolor, an Orion who runs a salvage yard for his aunt Osyraa of the Emerald Chain. He appeared first in "Scavengers" and again in "The Sanctuary." Ian talks about the highly secretive audition process for DISCO, the makeup transformation process of physically becoming an Orion and the moment the character came together for him, sharing the screen with Soneqhua Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh and having a fight scene with them, advice from Doug Jones, ad-libs and deleted scenes, being directed by Jonathan Frakes and killed by Janet Kidder in the same episode, and how Discovery is one of the best sets he has ever worked on. Plus, how Ian's Shakespearean training has affected his acting, being in "The Murdoch Mysteries," "The Art of Racing In The Rain," and more.

Jessica Gaona began acting at a very young age. She enjoyed two appearances in "Star Trek: Voyager: and other shows before taking a break from being behind the camera to find a new path in life. Her first appearance was as an alien extra in the season six episode "Memorial," but Trekkies may remember her best as young B'Elanna Torres from the seventh season episode "Lineage." Jessica reminisces about being on the set of a Star Trek show, what the Klingon makeup process was like for an 11-year-old, meeting the show's stars, including Roxann Dawson, what the overall experience was like. We also discuss what she's doing these days, which includes a freelance illustration career centered around anime and gaming conventions and her love of strength and fitness competitions.

Paul Robert Coyle has a storied past when it comes to writing television, pun intended. He has worked on and contributed to scripts for "Simon and Simo," "Barnaby Jones," "CHiPs," "Superboy," and more, but most listeners today would know him best for his work on several Star Trek episodes and his time on "Hercules" and "Xena." Paul tells us about some of the Star Trek scripts he wrote or contributed to, including the DS9 episode "Whispers" and the VOY episode "State of Flux," where he conceptualized the character of Seska. He also tells us about learning how to write from Dorothy Fontana, his first meeting with Gene Roddenberry, and the debacle that was his attempt to write an episode of the Star Trek animated series. We also spend a little time discussing his time as a writer and producer on "Xena" and "Hercules," including the creation of their mirror universe and the time Paul R. Coyle was played by Michael Hurst in an actual episode.

Trek Untold is celebrating their 50th episode and nearly a full year of shows, a big milestone for this podcast. What better way to celebrate this first anniversary than by talking with another Number One. This week, Jonathan Frakes joins the show to tell some stories about playing William Riker in all seven seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", as well as the four TNG movies, and appearances in "Star Trek: Picard" and "Lower Decks." Frakes also directed many episodes of Trek shows and two of the movies, along with a huge list of other television shows. Frakes tells some stories about specific TNG episodes like "The Outcast", "Sub Rosa" and "The Offspring" (his directorial debut), tales about his action figures, and the secret origins behind a major part of Riker's character. Plus, his philosophies on directing, working with Patrick Stewart in "Picard", his on-screen relationship with Marina Sirtis, and which "Star Trek: Discovery" performer has been shadowing Frakes and will sit in the director's chair in future episodes of the franchise. All this and more on the big 50th episode of Trek Untold.