Did You Know?

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Contents 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Quicklinks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

01

that Tom Morga is the only Trek actor to appear on screen with all five of the series captains?

02

that the Cliffs of Bole were named for veteran director Cliff Bole?

03

that Deep Space 9's Promenade was the largest standing set in Hollywood?

04

that Michael Dorn has the most 'regular cast' appearances of any actor in the Trek franchise, spanning five movies and eleven television seasons across two series?

05

that Star Trek: The Next Generation actors Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn and LeVar Burton once formed a band called 'The Sunspots' to provide backing vocals for Brent Spiner?

06

that the people of Cheron from the original Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" were used as the basis for a new version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet performed by Trekkies?

07

that the corridors of the USS Enterprise-D were actually built for the refit USS Enterprise for Phase II in the late 1970s when that series was budgeted for preproduction? They were refurbished again and again until they made their final appearance in Star Trek Generations in 1994, more than fifteen years after their inception.

08

that on the sets of Star Trek: Enterprise, sixteen Macintosh PowerMac G4 Cubes were used to power the many computer display screens on the bridge, engineering, and sickbay sets, among others?

09

that a computer screen in "The Big Goodbye" lists episode writer Tracy Tormé as the author of The Big Good-Bye and other Dixon Hill stories?

10

that Marina Sirtis originally auditioned for the role of security chief Macha Hernandez on Star Trek: The Next Generation? Denise Crosby was to play counselor Deanna Troi until Gene Roddenberry decided to switch the two actresses, renaming Hernandez to Natasha Yar, and was given a Ukrainian background to match Crosby's blond hair.

11

that two years after Lily Sloane accused Captain Jean-Luc Picard of behaving like the vengeful Captain Ahab in Star Trek: First Contact, actor Patrick Stewart played the role of Ahab in Franc Roddam's 1998 miniseries adaptation of Moby Dick?

12

that following a large earthquake in Los Angeles, Armin Shimerman did not have time to remove his Ferengi makeup when he rushed to go home to check on his family and the makeup "scared the living shit out of people"?

13

that the Whorfin-class ships, SS Lakul and SS Robert Fox, were the first fully computer-generated ships to appear in a Star Trek movie or series?

14

that Star Trek: Enterprise's Linda Park once dated Tom Hardy, who portrayed Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis?

15

that in his first few episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, Walter Koenig had to wear a wig to play Pavel Chekov that was reminiscent of The Monkees' Davy Jones, in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience?

16

that Lieutenant Ayala, played by Tarik Ergin, appeared in almost every episode of Star Trek: Voyager, but only spoke in four episodes?

17

that Q, the son of Q and Q, was played by Keegan de Lancie, the son of John de Lancie?

18

that in November 2003, the character of Crewman Elizabeth Cutler had to be removed from future storyboards of Star Trek: Enterprise because of actress Kellie Waymire's sudden death?

19

that Lt. Valeris was originally intended to be Lt. Saavik, but Gene Roddenberry protested that it was out of character for Saavik to be a traitor?

20

that all Talosians were played by females, then dubbed with male voices, in order to make them seem more alien?

21

that, according to Marina Sirtis, the writing staff of Star Trek: The Next Generation found Deanna Troi so difficult to write for, that she was almost dropped in November 1987 after the character went unused in "Hide and Q", "Datalore", "11001001" and "Heart of Glory"?

22

that the HMS Defiant pictured on the wall of the briefing room aboard the USS Defiant in ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" was actually a fictional ship from the eponymous movie, but the writer of that episode had misunderstood an online article about it and thought it was an historical vessel?

23

that Commander Thy'lek Shran's captain's chair aboard the Kumari started out as Captain Janeway's chair on USS Voyager?

24

that male actors were also being looked at for the role of Captain Janeway? Although the producers were hoping to find a woman for the series, they were open to a man if they found him to be the best actor for the role. The honor was given initially to Geneviève Bujold and later to Kate Mulgrew.

25

that originally, the three brightest stars on the emblem of the United Federation of Planets, as designed for Star Trek: The Next Generation, were going to represent Vulcan, Qo'noS, and Earth, because it was thought that the Klingons might have actually joined the Federation?

26

that among the Borg debris in the Arctic Circle in "Regeneration" is the saucer section of a filming model of the USS Enterprise-E?

27

that celebrities like Ashley Judd, Teri Hatcher, Nikki Cox, Jason Alexander, Tom Morello, Joan Collins, Dean Stockwell, Mick Fleetwood, Kelsey Grammer, Stephen Hawking, Whoopi Goldberg, Iggy Pop, Vanessa Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Andy Dick, Peter Weller, Teri Garr, The Rock, James Avery, Kristanna S. Loken, Mae Jemison, and Abdullah bin al-Hussein have all guest-starred on Star Trek?

28

that Armin Shimerman, Robert Duncan McNeill, Colm Meaney, Ethan Phillips, Marc Alaimo, and Tim Russ all appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation before becoming regular cast members?

29

that Gene Roddenberry has five characters named after him in the Star Trek universe?

30

that the mask originally worn by the character Michael Myers in the 1978 film Halloween was actually a Captain Kirk mask? The mask was spray-painted white, given teased out hair, and reshaped eye holes. It was chosen because the low-budget production could not afford to make its own mask and the Kirk mask had an emotionless look to it.

31

that Brent Spiner has portrayed five members of the Soong "family": Arik Soong, Noonian Soong, B-4, Lore, and Data?

32

that the Kazon were originally meant to be a social commentary on gangs in the United States?

33

that the character of Berlinghoff Rasmussen was originally written for Robin Williams, who opted out in order to play Peter Pan in the movie Hook?

34

that Jeffrey Combs, who had originally auditioned for the role of William T. Riker, was cast as Tiron in "Meridian" by the director Jonathan Frakes, who actually got the part of Riker?

35

that Jake Sisko and Ezri Dax are the only two main characters since TNG to not have appeared as a holographic duplicate?

36

that Felix Locher is the earliest born Star Trek performer and coincidentally, played Robert Johnson, a character who was one of the last to die from premature old age on Gamma Hydra IV?

37

that John Billingsley tried to get his wife Bonita Friedericy a role on Star Trek: Enterprise as one of his character's wives, but was unsuccessful? She did appear as Rooney, a Human scientist, in "Regeneration" though.

38

that the two main actors in The Original Series, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, are both Jewish?

39

that the town of Riverside in Iowa has officially laid claim to Captain James T. Kirk, and is even home to a memorial plaque?

40

that Michael Dorn is the only actor to appear as a series regular in two Star Trek spin-offs, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?

41

that when Stephen Hawking was taken on a tour of the USS Enterprise-D engine room set, he indicated the warp core and said, "I'm working on that"?

42

that Denise Crosby left Star Trek: The Next Generation before the first season ended because she felt her character was not being given enough to do?

43

that the carpets on the bridge of The Next Generation were changed nearly every season? In the first season, they were an Earthy tan and orange, but were later changed to various shades of blue and dark orange.

44

that Majel Barrett, in order to ease tensions between Star Trek and Babylon 5 fans, made a guest appearance on the latter as the former Centauri empress?

45

that the Star Trek Generations quote "time is the fire in which we burn" actually came from Gene Roddenberry, who borrowed it from the poem "Calmly We Walk Through This April Day," written in 1937 by Delmore Schwartz? They were given to the movie's villain, Tolian Soran, played by Malcolm McDowell, who liked the quote so much that he had it engraved into a pocket watch.

46

that the Battle of Cardassia in the Deep Space Nine finale "What You Leave Behind" primarily consists of stock footage?

47

that the number 47 occurs with greater frequency in nature than other numbers?

48

that Enterprise was the first series to not use physical models in favor of using CGI models for the starships?

49

Rick Berman and Brannon Braga never created a back story for the humanoid figure, aka "Future Guy"?

50

that, according to Gene Roddenberry, Vulcan is in the 40 Eridani A system?

51

the first CGI ship created for Star Trek was actually a Constitution-class study model, but it was never used on screen?

52

that Gene Roddenberry wrote lyrics for the theme song to Star Trek: The Original Series in order to secure a partial writer's credit for the song? These lyrics were never recorded as part of the original theme song, but have been included in recordings of the Star Trek theme by other artists, including the rock band Tenacious D, lounge band Love Jones, and Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols.

53

that three of Robert Picardo's castmates from the series China Beach – Megan Gallagher, Jeff Kober, and Concetta Tomei – all went on to guest-star with Picardo on Star Trek: Voyager?

54

that although the screen version of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier seems to imply that Sulu and Chekov are in Yosemite National Park with Captain Kirk and the others, a deleted part of that scene actually establishes that they are exploring Mt. Rushmore, which by the 23rd century has had the head of a female African-American President added?

55

that the USS Stargazer was originally going to be a Constitution-class starship before Andrew Probert and Rick Sternbach persuaded the producers to build a new miniature? A filmed segment already had Geordi La Forge saying "Constitution-class," so they simply re-dubbed it with "Constellation-class," which has almost identical lip movements.

56

that the insignia of the Ferengi Alliance of a horseshoe shape inside another horseshoe shape, first seen on a Ferengi in "The Last Outpost", is a visual pun referring to the "dog eat dog" nature of capitalism?

57

that Michael Braveheart had 69 uncredited appearances as Martinez in Star Trek: The Next Generation, had a line on four instances, and said "Yes, Doctor" all four times?

58

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