The Final Frontier

Reading The Field Negro this morning, his comments on the classic TV series Star Trek got me thinking about just how revolutionary it was at the time. Sure, it looks creaky, sexist, and old-fashioned when compared to other science-fiction programs (with a hell of a lot more money) like Lost or Battleship Gallatica today, but in 1966 it was important to me because it was the first science-fiction show that I seen where the future wasn't a melanin-free Utopia. As a Negro child growing up in the turbulent '60s, it was comforting to see other colored people in outer space. Don't forget, it wasn't just the multi-cultural casting that was groundbreaking in Star Trek, it was the stories as well. As Rod Serling did in his classic The Twilight Zone, Gene Roddenberry used the science-fiction premise of Star Trek as artful misdirection to comment on the hot-button issues of the era (the Vietnam war, religious intolerance, bigotry) that never would have gotten past the major TV networks otherwise. Remember "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"? Maybe it was heavy-handed, but damned if it ain't still relevant. Once you get past the aliens, phasers, and FTL warp drive, I think the most mind-blowing idea in Star Trek was Gene's optimism that the human race would finally reach the stars without blowing itself up first. I wish I shared his faith. It's kind of difficult these days.

When The Shatner Hits The Fan

Ah, another day, another new William Shatner commercial. Yeah, James Brown was "The Hardest Working Man In Show Business", but Shatner is hustling for a "Honorary Mention". Hustler. Hmm, that's a good word for dear old Bill, isn't it? Judging William Shatner objectively is problematic for me even during the worst of times. I can't casually dismiss his as a pompous fraud because, to be fair, he's not. Alright, as a dramatic actor, he's shamelessly served up fat, greasy, overcooked ham sandwiches for years. What he does and how he does it isn't a choice anymore, it's imbeded in his DNA. However, as a comic performer, I believe Shatner is seriously underrated. The few episodes of Trek that stay fresh and timeless are the ones where Kirk gets to be funny, and--amazingly--he is. There's nuance, timing, discipline, and suppleness. He's relaxed; he's not dialing it to "11". In other words, Shatner is everything that's glaringly absent from his hambone performances. When Shatner does drama, he's a slab of Canadian Bacon. He's selfish, and an out-of-control scenery-chewer who swallows his fellow actors. In comedies, he's remarkably generous, invites everybody to the party, and buys the beer. Watch Shatner's past work with Spader and Lithgow. There's a sly ease and camaraderie which you usually see only in the pairings of legendary comedy teams that have a history. When Shatner has the clown make-up on, he's a team player. When he has Yorick's plastic skull in his hand, he thinks he's the team. Shatner is a good actor. He deserves his second act. But he shouldn't sing anymore, please dear God. The only thing Shatner should do with a microphone is ignore it. Let's not mention the hair.

Mr. and Mrs. Seven of Nine

Sorry, boys and girls, but it's time to put those naughty fantasies away for good. Jeri Ryan is now officially off the market: Actress Jeri Ryan Marries French Chef Jeri Ryan married French chef Christophe Eme in the French countryside over the weekend, her rep confirms exclusively to PEOPLE. "There was so much love in the air," says wedding planner Lisa Vorce of Oh, How Charming! event production. "They are so happy together." Ryan, 39, who stars in CBS's legal drama Shark, wore a Vera Wang gown as she and Eme, 37, exchanged vows Saturday in a castle in Eme's hometown outside Angers in the Loire Valley. "It's breathtakingly beautiful," Ryan told PEOPLE in November of the wedding venue. "I pulled in and just started crying." As a big-time Trekkie, I've had a warm fondness for Jeri Ryan ever since I saw her for the first time in Voyager, and I believe that the introduction of Ryan's Seven of Nine character single-handedly saved the series from cancellation. Voyager wasn't the worse Star Trek spin-off (no, that dubious honor goes to the infamous Enterprise), but it was an ambitious, ill-conceived and doomed experiment, and it precipitated the slow decline of the franchise. The bad luck began when Geneviève Bujold dropped out, and the dull Kate Mulgrew was cast as Captain Janeway. Oops. As awful as that misfire was, it got worse. The cross-eyed and tone-deaf producers of Voyager continued to unerringly hit our collective thumbs squarely with a hammer by giving us an African-American Vulcan with an ugly haircut, The Dullest Klingon In The Universe, a guy who had Mike Tyson's facial tattoo, and a motley crew of assorted non-entities in starfleet uniforms. Add a few tasteless plots left from The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, toss in the microwave, and serve. Blah. But the addition of Seven of Nine changed everything for the better. A drone captured from the Borg collective, Seven of Nine became a member of Voyager's crew and, other than Robert Picardo's sly, charming and graceful portrayal of the ship's doctor, was the program's most compelling character. Bitterly resented by Mulgrew, and unfairly maligned as cheesecake in a skintight suit, I thought Ryan gave Voyager humor, mystery, sensuality, and a subtle and tragic poignancy that wasn't there before. As with Spock, Data, and Odo, Seven of Nine was an alien being misplaced in a world of humans searching to find her own identity. In return, these intriguing characters made us question our own assumptions about what humanity was. Oboy, now we're cooking. With so much to work with, the stories practically wrote themselves. For example, a gentle and heartfelt scene where The Doctor teaches a quizzical Seven of Nine to sing "You Are My Sunshine" is wonderful. Who cares if Mulgrew was pissed off? I'm sure David Caruso didn't like it when Andy Sipowicz didn't stay dead like he was supposed to because Dennis Franz was so good in NYPD Blue, people didn't want to see him go. Jeri Ryan did the same thing, and deserved her success. Presently, Jeri is trying her best not be be devoured by the crazed scenery-chewing of James Woods. She was better in Voyager. I wish Jeri Ryan and Christopher Eme all the best in their marriage. Sob. The lucky bastard.