James Cawley on the Set of Star Trek

By Gillian Weisgram

James Cawley has been an opponent of Star Trek XI for a very long time now, so when he recently began to speak out in favor, it raised a lot of eyebrows in the Trek community. In a recent interview with Trekmovie.com, Cawley reported on his feelings now that he has had a chance to see Abrams in action - and it completely changed his mind.

Cawley has come to Trekkie fame as the Exectuive Producer of Star Trek: The New Voyages. A self-proclaimed purist, Cawley's objections have revolved around the fact that it won't be the same. The sets and costumes and actors won't be the same. This is an oft-repeated theme among doomsayers like Cawley, who feel that the spirit of Star Trek will not be respected.

Cawley was walking through the Paramount lot with a friend when a chance encounter with J.J. Abrams led to him being invited into the ultra high security set of Star Trek. Sitting next to J.J. at the monitor, he found himself asked his opinion of the sets, the costumes, and the filming, as well as being given a small role on the movie.

The main concerns Cawley had had to do with his being a "purist", or "someone who's...extremely devoted to the original show". As such, he was concerned about the idea of the designs of the Enterprise changing at all, as evidenced by the amazing accuracy of New Voyages, right down to the braid on Kirk's sleeve. So redesigning the Enterprise, even a little, was just too much for him to contemplate.

All that changed when Cawley was walking across the Paramount lot with a friend and decided to stroll by Studios 8 and 9 where the movie is being filmed. J.J. Abrams was driving somewhere in a golf cart when he recognized Cawley (Cool Thing #1: JJ knows James Cawley on sight!) and invited him to return to the stage to watch the filming later in the day. (Cool Thing #2: JJ scores big PR points yesss!)

Returning to the set, Cawley found himself seated next to JJ himself at the monitor, watching as the movie was being filmed and asked for his opinion about the shooting. (Cool Thing #3: Ask the expert!)

Cawley describes JJ as down-to-Earth, normal, and "genuinely nice", a quality that seems to have eluded several previous Star Trek directors (If I named them, that would be slander). "To experience his generosity and his humor," said Cawley, "was the best of all." Cawley left the set with an invitation to return any time and a role as a Starfleet officer in the movie - details as yet unknown.

One of the first things Cawley noticed was how much attention had been paid to the sets and costumes. While the sets were not exactly what he would have done, he said, they were nonetheless impressive and the costumes were "perfect". Also, Cawley believes JJ "gets" Star Trek, :"Dude, let me tell you, I had a long conversation with JJ - we were on the set again today for another four and a half hours and one of the conversations I had with JJ was his feelings about Star Trek. And that's what absolutely sold me on J.J. Abrams and Star Trek was that he said how much he believes in the philosophy of Gene Roddenberry, the humanity, and the message that the original series delivered. That's his focus."

This statement changed Cawley's perception of that ever-elusive continuity. "It doesn't matter if the set is perfect if the heart is there. And he's got it."


Online Videos by Veoh.com

You can also watch the entire interview at trekmovie.com.

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I Believe! (Why Nemesis Bombed)

by Gillian Weisgram


Trekmovie.com is hosting a video from G4 that states that Nemesis bombed because we're done with the Next Generation crew.

Is that really what people think?

Nemeis bombed because it was an obvious crappy remake. If you need proof, look no further! Tell me what movie this is: the Captain of the Enterprise is mysteriously summoned to a specific region of space where he encounters a villain to whom he has close personal ties, and who has a specific need to see that Captain dead. The Captain ends up having a huge space battle with the villain in the middle of a giant dust cloud, until the villain, recognizing defeat, launches his superweapon. Only the sacrifice of the Captain's closest friend – and First Officer – can save the ship. But there is a slight hope that maybe he didn't die at all...

Now tell me which movie that was.

That's not all that's wrong with Nemesis, though. If it had just been the fact that the entire plot was poached from what may be the most-loved Trek movie ever, that might be forgiveable. But with the dune buggy, B4, Shinzon, and the Viceroy running around, it was hard to make audiences take it seriously. The dune buggy can be pinned squarely on the director, since the writer has no say whatsoever. B4 is a great piece of continuity (look up TNG: Inheritance, if you're having trouble there) that could have been fleshed out in more detail. Shinzon was a great idea that didn't need that much screen time. And the Viceroy was just totally unnecessary to the plot.

The parts that really ticked me off, and ruined the whole thing for me, were the omissions. What they put in the movie was excusable. What they left out was criminal. I waited fifteen years to see Will and Deanna tie the knot, and they didn't show the wedding. Wil Wheaton was in the movie, and even though his scene was 30 seconds long (which could not possibly annoy the Wesley bashers that much) and would have won over the Wesley-loving crowd, they cut him out. As a side note, Wil is still an actor, people.

The worst part is that those things were in the script. For whatever reason, they were either never filmed or cut from the final version of the movie. You can see Wil's scene on the DVD, in the section marked “deleted scenes”. Nice.
Then there was the stuff that was actually good, the stuff that got drowned out by the dune buggy and it's friends. Like the point where the death of Data, who is beloved by pretty much everyone I know, is sinking in and Will Riker makes his little speech.

Now I'm not going to pin this anywhere, because it's so complex. First of all, the timing sucked. It needed to be either after a funeral – now there's a good idea! Or after enough time had gone by that the audience had time to grieve. If it was in at all, which it didn't have to be. I'll chalk it up to writer/director error and just say that every fan worth his salt knows what song Data was whistling when Riker found him on the holodeck.

So when Data's good and dead, made human, if you will, by his self-sacrifice, no one notices that he's been made human at all, because Will Riker's standing there going, "When I first met Data, he was trying to whistle. Funniest thing you ever heard. What was the song? I can't remember the song!" and seventeen people (me included) yelled "Pop Goes the Weasel!" and added a "you dumb shit!" silently in our heads. And the mood was ruined. Forgive us. Data had just died.

It was a long time – hours – before I came up with the self-sacrifice thing.
And it took two months before I realized that there's some really good stuff about Nemesis. The continuity is amazing, especially with regard to how Data sees and defines himself. Worf's presence is unexplained, but he has several wonderful moments. Riker and Troi have major devolepment in the form of getting married. Beverly gets promoted – even though that, too, got edited out – and Wesley returns to Starfleet. Only he's on the Titan, so you'll never see him, so just chill out, you Wesley bashers. There's some kind of moment for everyone. Well, except Geordi. Poor Geordi. He gets great screen time with Data though. And I can't really find it in my heart to argue too much with a movie that finally, after fifteen years, found a use for Deanna Troi.

Maybe Nemesis is crap. I don't know anymore. In fact, there's not much I do know. But what I believe, and you can disagree with me if you want, is that Nemesis had good equal to its bad, and if Ice Princess can turn a profit, Nemesis deserved to too. As terrified as Nemesis makes me for the future of this show – for the future of my life – I believe in Star Trek. I've come too far as a Trekkie not to believe.

I believe this new movie CAN WORK. I believe in Leonard Nimoy, who likes the script and has always been right about the relative success or failure of every movie. I believe in Zachary Quinto with his identical-to-Nimoy nose. I believe in the selling power of Jim Kirk, even if he is Chris Pine now. I believe in the fan-ness of John Logan, who may never be invited to a Star Trek convention, but who I will always want to meet. I believe in the good intentions of Rick Berman and Brannon Braga (at least in the beginning) and the creative genius of Michael Piller. I believe that J.J. Abrams knows what he's doing. I believe in the favouritism of Kathryn Janeway and the emotionalisim of Jim Kirk. I believe in the long-windedness of First Season Picard and the faith of Seventh Season Sisko. I believe that Jonathan Archer was an idiot and but Trip and T'Pol (not their romance) totally made up for it.

And I believe that the future will give me more opportunities to believe.

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Leonard Nimoy's "Highly Illogical"

Hey all, sorry it's been so long since we've posted here. More to come soon.

Trekdom Review: "The Menagerie" Movie Screening

by NyackJohn

So, I've been meaning to post for a while regarding the Movie Event showing of "The Menagerie" on the big screen.

My group attended the evening of November 13. Interestingly, most of the group consisted of a bunch of us who went to see each of the re-released "Star Wars" films at the giant Zeigfield Theater in NYC when Lucas re-did the effects some years ago. We thought remastered Star Trek was a perfect thing for this group.

There were six of us - a Diva who sings "Carmen" at the Metropolitan Opera and elsewhere; an Exec Marketing VP for a TV network; a 2 time award winner for "Best Jazz Singer in New York"; an Artisan Carpenter (who Acts on the side); a simultaneous interpretor from Bosnia; and me. I say this because some Emo kid who was waiting on line for the latest slasher flick said very loudly "Look at those loosers going to see "Star Trek"...". I admit curiosity to exactly what his definition of "loser" means...

We met for dinner at Dallas BBQ on 42nd Street, directly across from the theater. If you've never been to NYC, Dallas BBQ is a football field sized restaurant that caters mostly to tourists, but has the best damn Barbequed Chicken within about a 150 mile radius. Our Bosnian interpreter was "fascinated".

Our showing was sold out. We thought being a half hour early would get us good seats and we were very incorrect. In this enormous 4 story theater we were up near the very top (we also wanted to sit together, so...). Looking out at the audience, there were lots of business suits, and a number of people were actually extremely well dressed (though they could have been coming from work). There were a few "Star Trek" T-Shirts in evidence, but not much more than that. One poor soul was dressed as an Andorian, but sat in the very back and would not let me take their picture. Most of the audience did appear to be in "our" age group (30's and 40's) with more people in their 50's and 60's than younger (or so it appeared to us). The audience was equally divided between male and female (which seems to be more of a TOS thing than the later series, which seem skewed towards the male viewer).

The Movie finally began, and there was a prologue by Rod Roddenberry. It really seemed to be a commercial for the remastereds on DVD, but still, it kept the interest of the audience, and you could see his genuine affection for his father's work.

The Menagerie was shown in it's entirety - including both sets of credits. Many viewers around the country later complained it was too dark - there were moments when I did think it a trifle dim, but it never really bothered any of us. Interestingly, when the Enterprise is NOT in a star system, they do show it with running lights, and looking rather dark - it makes sense, really. The cleaned up video is truly wonderful - the colors are not at all garish, for instance, Uhura and Scotty's uniforms glow with a deep regal red rather than the more orangey-red that always showed up on our TVs. The Bridge looks spectacular. The CGI in this showing did not appear cartoonish, though I hear in some of the other episodes it can do so.

What I found particularly wonderful were the cleaned up Matte Paintings - the Citadel on Rigel VII was magnificent, as was the cleaned up Talos IV horizon. Very Wonderful! I liked the changes done to the mattes on Starbase 11 - the adding of more detail, more lights, even moving ships. Some complained they weren't "exciting" enough - Hello! In theatre we call that "upstaging" - you don't have a background be so interesting that it fights with the drama down front. I thought the changes were just right.

Except for the slight "jarringness" of having ending and second beginning credits in the middle of the presentation, "The Menagerie" actually holds it own extremely well as a cinematic presentation. Afterwards, many people remarked on how they'd fogotten how well written it was and wished there was more good writing like it around.

Interestingly, Kirk really does come across as a total womanizer on the big screen moreso than he does on TV. And even the two straight guys in our group agreed that Jeffrey Hunter was probably the handsomest actor in all the Trek incarnations. Our Bosnia remarked on how odd it was to finally see it without it being dubbed into her language!

"The Women!", Spock's empassioned cry, actually garnered huge laughs. Seems no matter how "canon hounds" try to explain that one, it just sticks out like a sore thumb.

Once "The Menagerie" was over, there was another "commercial" for the DVDs, previewing the Second Season of remastered episodes. It was well-received by the audience, and the whole place erupted into cheers with the line "after 40 years you will finally see a Gorn blink...".

There was no mention of the upcoming film, and I think that was probably a good idea. This was NOT the crowd to tout the "re-boot" to - these were, for the most part, old die-hard fans of the original series who are tentative about the new project. It was as if the HD-DVD's were sort of a present and apology to them - a loyal fanbase which basically kept much of Paramount alive over the years and has been a great boon to their new parent company, CBS. It appeared to me that this was CBS/Paramount's way of "having their cake and eating it too" - a new "reboot" movie for younger fans and some of the older fans that can handle it, and a dusting and polishing of the original series for the older fans who like Shatner/Nimoy/Kelley/Nichols just fine thanks.

I mentioned the TV exec who was with us. When he was leaving the office to go to the movie he mentioned where he was going to a VERY senior exec there - a man who had been with NBC in his younger days during the 1960s, who said "cancelling that show was quite possibly the stupidest thing done in that entire network's history..."

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Star Trek and Religion (A Conversation with Prof. Mary Jo Weaver)

After earning her Ph.D at the University of Notre Dame in 1973, Prof. Mary Jo Weaver (Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University) wrote and taught about contemporary American Catholicism. Her publications focused on the history and politics of institutional Catholicism, as well as the impact of feminism. Two books, in particular, explored the political divisions and competing ideologies that shape modern Catholism: Being Right: Conservative American Catholics (1995) and What's Left?: Liberal American Catholics (1999).

Mary Jo Weaver also taught several courses on Star Trek that incorporated popular culture, theories of religion, and analytical explorations of cosmology. She was kind enough to speak with us about religion and spirituality in the Star Trek universe.

Trekdom: Professor Weaver, thank you so much for the taking time to speak with us. Like many teachers and scholars, you've had success using Star Trek in the classroom. Whether giving introductory lectures on modern intellectual history or delving into complex debates about religion, philosophy, science, and politics, Star Trek has been a useful teaching aid. Why is that? Is it simply because artifacts of contemporary popular culture are useful teaching aids, or is there something unique and special about Trek?

Mary Jo Weaver: Trek is useful because I found many of its episodes able to dovetail with what I wanted to do in the classroom. I would have used another bit of popular culture, but happened to love Trek and to own most of it, so tailored my course to it. For example, I wanted students to understand a bit of Freud’s critique of religion and why he dismisses arguments from antiquity. Well, “Devil’s Due” is a great episode for Freud: it is about reality, about how mythological figures fool people, about the weakness of the argument from antiquity etc. Anyway, point is, I was interested in students understanding Freud, not Trek. I think Roddenberry was interested in making a successful television series, and it happens that he had a pretty well-developed consciousness as a secular humanist (thought human beings had unlimited potential to do good, especially if not impaired by evil systems by which he usually meant religion, or the military, or business). He was able to take on issues because of the Sci-Fi format and he produced an excellent show. I do not believe that Trek is all that interesting intellectually in itself, but it is suggestive and works with a variety of approaches to deepen awareness of a variety of issues.

Trekdom: If you could characterize Star Trek's overall stance on religion and the existence of God(s), what would you argue? Was there a consistent message throughout the various series, or did the message change over time?

Weaver: Not sure it had or was all that interested in taking a stance on God. GR did not like organized religion, and he was drawn to some Enlightenment thinkers which means that when he did open up vaguely religions themes, he sounded like some of those people. In that, again, I think he reflected the culture of the 60s. By the 90s, with the rise of some religious alternatives (ecumenical, new-age, etc.) Trek was able to reflect some other ways to look at religious material. Early Trek (esp original series) was horrid when it took on religious themes head on (“Who Mourns for Adonis” is a cliché argument about how we’ve outgrown our need for the gods – Plato made the same argument long, long ago) but those episodes are useful to get students interested and to guide them toward sources that can flesh out, criticize, and evaluate the “stance” presented in the program. Trek is only consistent as a barometer of cultural change (by the 90s folks were comfortable with Native American ideas, so Chakotay goes on vision quests and has a quasi-mystical approach to some things; by the 90s anthropologists were interested in religious practices (Victor Turner, Geertz e.g.) and so we can see Janeway searching the Federation data base on religious anthropology and using it to undergo some sort of ritual. The nice thing about that episode is that her knowledge won’t get her very far, that she has to rely on her own self, her experience (not someone else’s data), and that, too, is one of the theme songs of the 90s.

TD: It's interesting because many fans argue that Gene Roddenberry's secular humanism and personal intolerance for faith and organized religion contradicted his proclamations of "infinite diversity in infinite combinations." When the later series treated mysticism, spirituality, and faith with more respect, Star Trek started to finally live up to its professed embrace of multiculturalism and competing worldviews. Any thoughts here?

Weaver: I don’t think he was intolerant of faith, but surely had no use for organized religion. Infinite diversity is not really a religious formula, it is more of a nod to Darwin and to the complexities of the material universe translated into human terms. There are times in interviews that GR sounded like Plotinus or something (ultimate union with “The One”). Faith is a tricky matter – often even in shows where they almost admire a mystical approach, they continue to show an aversion to “faith” which suggests to me that they think faith is something inexorably connected to institutional religion. Trek’s multi-culturalism was mostly racial and that’s great. Not so embracing of gay characters, or conservative believers or other groups that make multi-culturalism more interesting or (for some) more vexing. DS-9 was fascinating about religion and politics. I never quite knew what to make of the prophets, or of Sisko’s experiences with them. And, frankly, DS-9 was not on my radar screen the same way TNG and VOY were when I was creating the syllabus.

TD: Star Trek is at its best when it deals with complex social issues in provocative ways. Those examples of social commentary could be quite preachy at times, as with "Let that Be your Last Battlefield," "Who Mourns for Adonais," and "Who Watches the Watchers." Still, Trek asks viewers to think and reflect about important issues. However, with Star Trek: Enterprise, it seemed like that aspect was lost amidst laser fights, steamy decon rub-downs, and Vulcan zombies in space. I can think of only one episode ("Chosen Realm") that approached the topic of religion in a direct way. Do you share my frustration here, or would you say that ENT had much to say about religion and philosophy?

Weaver: Enterprise was horrible exactly as you say, because there was no there there. Who cares how they came up with “Red Alert?” Nothing to think about, just something to see. The social commentary episodes you mention were preachy which is why I think Trek is much better when it comes at religious issues in a tangential way (Transfigurations, e.g., about the personal evolution of humanoid species into cosmic light particles, is provocative and open to a variety of religious interpretations). I think ENT had nothing to say about religion (except, perhaps, that in its institutional form—the old GR bugbear—as in Vulcan monasteries, religion is horrid). My guess about the steam decon scenes is that TV studios are probably more interested in such scenes than Trek creators in some ways.

TD: Star Trek is now in the hands of J.J. Abrams, whose previous work on Lost explored the conflicts between a man of science (Jack) and a man of faith (John Locke). If Abrams' 2008 Star Trek reboot recreates those types of dichotomies and uncompromising battles, would that be good for Star Trek, or would you like to see something much different?

Weaver: (Will wait and see)

TD: Thank you for your time. It was a pleasure.

Weaver: This was fun.

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Trekkie Girl: "Set Phasers on Stun!"

by Shree

Weapons! I have always been fascinated by weapons. I started collecting them from a fairly young age. I got a bow and arrows for Christmas when I was about 12 years old. Later on, I would go to the little weapon stores in the mall & buy whatever I could including a small knife that was disguised as a pen and various metal keychains that sort of resembled brass knuckles. I've bought swords, daggers and axes at fairs. One of my favorites is a midieval flail.

Guns were the best though. I shot my dad's guns whenever I got a chance. I was so excited when I was old enough to buy my own. My first gun was a tiny little .22 Jennings semi-automatic. I call it my James Bond gun. The coolest to shoot is my MAC-11. The biggest is the AR-15 but I think my favorite will always be a good old fashioned revolver. I love guns!

I was thinking recently about today's weapons compared to what we might have in the future. The possibilities are endless! On the big screen, some movies set in the future use weapons similar to today's, such as in Aliens and Serenity. Star Wars uses a lot of both kinetic and energy weapons, while Star Trek seems to use mostly energy weapons.

Which is better? Both have their pros and cons, I'm sure. It would be interesting to shoot a phaser. Although I think it would be hard to compare that to the first time I shot a revolver. I would miss the heavy, cold, hard steel, the strong kick-back and the BOOM! I admit it would be fun to play with a phaser and experiment with it. I would try using it to cook pop-tarts and weed the garden, just as much as I would use it to shoot stuff. From what I saw in the show I always wondered if I could dodge the phaser blast, as slow as it seems to go. I also thought it was funny how they would brace themselves before they shot, like there was this huge kick-back from the phaser discharge. Then again, it would be nice to not worry about running out of ammo and misfiring. Star Trek's weapons could be the solution to a lot of problems.

Kinetic verses energy weapons- are both needed to keep the peace? In your idea of a perfect world, which would be used? Personally I just like things that go BOOM!

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Essay Contest: "Best Star Trek: Insurrection Review"

Prize: 3 disc "Star Trek Next Generation Movie Collection" (includes Generations, First Contact, and Insurrection - widescreen US DVD)

Contest: Best "Insurrection" Review

Rules: Roughly 5-7 paragraph review of this TNG film. It can either praise the film or bash the film. It can be either serious or humorous.

Winning review (chosen by poll votes) will be published on the blog.

Deadline: Thanksgiving 2007.

To submit a review, follow this link and add your submission as a forum post (free and easy registration required).

October Centerfold: Grace Lee Whitney

Grace Lee Whitney as Yeomand Janice Rand

Visit our Grace Lee Whitney photo gallery here.

Also see our review of Grace Lee Whitney's The Longest Trek.

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Star Trek XI Cast (Updates)

Confirmed cast of Star Trek XI, titled simply Star Trek:

Captain James T. Kirk: Chris Pine

First Officer Mr. Spock: Zachary Quinto

Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy: Karl Urban

Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott "Scotty": Simon Pegg


Lt. Uhura: Zoe Saldana

Ensign Pavel Chekov: Anton Yelchin

Helmsman Sulu: John Cho

*Also Starring Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

Updates to come: Christopher Pike and Kirk's parents. For the most up to date info on Star Trek XI, visit Trekmovie.com

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Trekkie Girl: How I Found Trek

How I found Trek

Hello fellow fans! I've always been a big fan of sci-fi. If it has aliens and space adventures, you can count me in. I've been following Star Trek for a while now. The series has always meant a lot to me because I shared it with my dad. I started watching it when I was about 14 years old. I used to watch my dad's favorite shows with him. It was a nice way to spend time with him when I was a kid. Shows such as "V", "War of the Worlds", "Hill Street Blues" and "A-Team" were among my favorites, but when I was introduced to Star Trek: TNG, I was hooked for life. We would share a bottle of tonic water & lemon slices while we watched a new episode every week. It's such a fond memory to me. To this day we still quote Picard to each other. It may be a little nerdy, but we never cared.

Star Trek had so much to offer. The episodes had a little of everything in them. I remember watching in anticipation, hoping that Riker and Troi would just hurry up and get together. I admired Worf's courage and sense of honor and Data's awesome capabilities and constant desire to feel human. Picard will always be my favorite captain, by far. It was easy to grow fond of the TNG crew and even the villains. The Borg were quite scary and Q was so horrible but I couldn't help but like him.

I was pretty sad when the series ended. I knew any new ones just wouldn't be the same but I did enjoy DS9, Enterprise and everything I've seen so far of TOS. I still love to catch episodes on cable when I can and hearing thoughts about the show from other fans. I hope that ST stays around for a good long time. I, just like so many others, have been anxiously awaiting the new film! I'm torn between wanting to know every little detail that comes out about it and just going into the theater completely surprised and open minded. I've also been looking forward to Star Trek Online for the last couple years. The images I've seen look very promising. I used to dream of how cool it would be to fly around the galaxy exploring and having adventures. I can't wait to have a chance at it in STO!

So, that's how I got involved in this crazy Star Trek world.


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Blast From the Past: The Wrath of Khan makes Headlines

From The New York Times, May 23rd, 1982:

"An Enterprise for Trekkies," by Susan Chira

They were soaked with rain and huddled in blankets, but the 500 fans who had waited for hours yesterday to see the New York preview of the new "Star Trek" movie - "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"- considered it part of the fun.

"If people put up with the rain, the hours on lines and the pigeons all day long," said 31-year-old Robert Ildefonso, near the front of the line, "that's the trademark of the Trekkie."

The film, which will formally open in New York on June 4, is the second one based on "Star Trek," the science-fiction series of the 1960's that has been in televised reruns for a number of years.

Ralph Schiano, 28, said he had been waiting since early morning outside the Loews State I theater on Broadway at 45th Street. Wet to the skin and clutching a dark green blanket, Mr. Schiano nevertheless confessed to feeling pleased with himself. He was the first in line.

By arriving at 1:30 A.M. yesterday for a show that was to begin at 8:30 P.M., he managed to beat the others to the theater. Behind him, the line stretched half a block up Broadway to 48th Street and then around the corner, almost to the Avenue of the Americas.

According to the fans, Mr. Spock, one of the characters in the television series, will be killed off in the movie. One person had plastered the mailbox in front of the theater with a copy of "The Daily Tribune" headlined, "Spock Dies, Kirk is Heartbroken."

The fans gave similar reasons for their devotion: addiction to the series, or in the case of younger followers, the reruns and a love of science-fiction.

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Star Trek Punk Band Breaks the Warp Threshold

Warp 11, a punk band based out of Sacramento, CA, began their musical career at small venues and Trek conventions. With a rough and tumble mix of eclectic rock and TOS miniskirts, they've won the hearts of many Star Trek fans, as well as the respect of critics.

Although some songs, such as "Suds Me Up, Sulu" and "Set Phasers for Fuck!" are less than family-friendly, the band's unique style, inovative lyrics, and unmatched worship of gogo boots command attention. If anything, the band reminds us just how sexy Trek can be.

Here's hoping that the 2008 reboot of TOS coincides with the band's successful launch into the mainstream.

Videos:

"She make it so."

Live: "Red Alert/Everything I Do, I Do with William Shatner"



Live: "Jerk My Kirk"



Live: "Planet Fuck"



For more info, tour dates, and details on purchasing their albums, click here.

Warp 11 has released four albums to date.
It's Dead, Jim (2007)
Boldly Go Down On Me (2005)
Red Alert (2002)
Suck My Spock (2000)

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History of the Dominion War, parts 5, 6, and 7

Triple Dose of one YouTuber's excellent compilation of the Dominion War. Enjoy!

5:



6:




7:



*scroll through the fanzine for earlier parts
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VOY's "The Swarm," and the Inconsistencies of Capt. Janeway

Warning: The following rant contains excessively funny profanity.

----------------

by Alisium

To follow regulations or not to follow…

That is the question Capt. Janeway seems incapable of answering.

In this episode B'Elanna and Paris accidentally happen across a really nasty species who very aggressively defends its territory. They are promptly zapped unconscious by a neurological weapon.

Once aboard, the command staff reviews what happened, and Neelix is pretty sure he recognizes the species.

Paraphrasing: Neelix says,

"Whoa, these are bad dudes, I mean really badd ass muther fuckers! I personally
have never come across them, thank GOD! And, no one who ever has lives to tell
the tale! No one knows anything about them at all, except it REALLY pisses them
off when someone steps on their turf. And the reason that no one knows anything
about them is because the only thing that returns from an encounter is a ship
full of sorry dead bastards. Even the Borg let some people escape. These badd
ass muther fuckers don't."

To that the Voyager crew says, "Huh." *chew gum loudly twirl fingers in hair*

Then they examine something that indicates the size of the badd ass muther fuckers’ territory is such that it would take the Voyager and crew 15 months out of their way to go around their empire. Apparently, their territory is 30 months wide and 30 months tall but less than a month or so thick.

So what does, Capt. "ooh we have to let these people blow themselves up because of the PD" Janeway say?

"Fuck 'em."

To that Tuvoc says, "Captian, you just suprised me! Would it change your mind if I reminded you that Starfleet Regulations forbid us to tresspass?"

Janeway says, "Fuck no!"

Seriously what the fuck! First she's all, "No we must save the Ocampa, fuck you guys and your families and the fucking Prime Directive….” Then, "Fuck them! The PD says we can’t get involved, so let them blow themselves up! Then, "Fuck no we aren’t trading our stories for some covert technology that is going to get us half way home in about 0.68 seconds!" And then, "Fuck starfleet regulations."

Jesus Fucking Christ I hate this bitch!

To make the episode even worse... Nancy boy Mr. Oedipus complex himself Ens. "Im saving my penis for Janeway" Kim, with the worst cheesy grin, ever, on his face, begins to assure mommy Janeway about how he can easily get around some border sensors for a species he knows nothing about, who have deployed sensors he knows nothing about, and all while not knowing or having the first fucking clue about what other defensive measures these badd ass muther fuckers have in place.

Then Cmdr. "Harry Kim is my condom while I'm in Janeway" Chakotay, decides arbitrarily that "there is no way they have enough ships to guard that much territory." Remember, these are the bad ass mother fuckers that no one knows fucking dick about because, like U.S. Marines, they kill everything they see. But, of course Chakotay already knows their tactical disposition.

Then there is the realization that this empire or whatever is either razor thin, or Jane-so-stupid is willing to dump her crew into a situation she knows nothing about, in an extremely dangerous environment, with aliens who are going to actively seek them out to destroy them, for anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months. Sound familiar?

Janeway is at least consistent in this regard: She has no problem shitting on her crew’s safety and well being for arbitrary reasons.

Shortly after the meeting I had to turn off the TV. Enough is enough.

There was one great moment though. In the shuttle Paris basically tells B'Elanna that he is surprised she doesn't fuck more, what with her Klingon whore-moans and all. Then this proposition (paraphrasing), "When you get tired of Ens. Crotch Rot and want a real man, come chat me up, I'll lay you out like a pop queen wanna-be under the stars in my holodeck sailing ship program."

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Star Trek: The Menagerie Coming Soon to the Big Screen

11/13/2007

Boldly go where no man has gone before to see two of the most famous “Star Trek: The Original Series” episodes – your local movie theatre! “Star Trek: The Original Series” will be beamed onto the big screen for only one night in select movie theatres nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 13^th at 7:30PM (local). This event features the original Season 1 episodes “The Menagerie” Part 1 and 2, digitally re-mastered in High-Definition and Cinema Surround Sound. Also included is greeting from creator Gene Roddenberry’s son, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry and an exclusive 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at how the episodes were digitally re-mastered.

Event Synopsis:

“The Menagerie” features footage from the original “Star Trek” pilot episode titled “The Cage.” Leonard Nimoy as Spock is the only character that made it from the pilot to the “Star Trek” series – as well as Jeffrey Hunter in the role of the original commander of the starship Enterprise, Captain Christopher Pike.

The two-part episode features Spock and the familiar crew of the Enterprise including William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, James Doohan as Scott, and Nichelle Nichols as Uhura. In this episode, Spock is on trial for hijacking the Enterprise, telling a strange tale of former Enterprise Captain Pike's imprisonment on Talos IV 13 years earlier and the past crew's attempts to rescue him – shown in “flashback” footage taken from the original pilot episode.

Complete Theatre List: Star Trek: The Original Series

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11/13/2007

Theatre Name	City	St	Zip
Trussville Stadium 16	Birmingham	AL	35235
Hollywood Stadium 18	Huntsville	AL	35802
Breckenridge Stadium 12	Little Rock	AR	72205
Ahwatukee 24	Phoenix	AZ	85044
Deer Valley 30	Phoenix	AZ	85027
Desert Ridge 18	Phoenix	AZ	85050
Alhambra Renaissance 14	Alhambra	CA	91801
Aliso Viejo Stadium 20	Aliso Viejo	CA	92656
Downtown Disney 12	Anaheim	CA	92802
Anaheim Hills 14	Anaheim Hills	CA	92808
Deer Valley Stadium 16	Antioch	CA	94509
Bakersfield Stadium 14	Bakersfield	CA	93311
Brea Stadium 12 East	Brea	CA	92821
Burbank 16	Burbank	CA	91502
Camarillo 12	Camarillo	CA	93010
Cinemark 14	Chico	CA	95926
Metro Pointe Stadium 12	Costa Mesa	CA	92626
Hacienda Crossings Stadium	Dublin	CA	94568
Parkway Plaza Stadium 18	El Cajon	CA	92020
El Dorado Hills Stadium 14	Eldorado Hills	CA	95762
Bay Street 16	Emeryville	CA	94608
Fairfield Stadium 16	Fairfield	CA	94533
Foothill Towne Center Stadium 22	Foothill Ranch	CA	92610
Fresno Stadium 21 w/IMAX	Fresno	CA	93720
Garden Grove Stadium 16	Garden Grove	CA	92841
Hemet Cinema 12	Hemet	CA	92545
Irvine Spectrum 21	Irvine	CA	92618
La Habra Stadium 16	La Habra	CA	90631
La Jolla Village 12	La Jolla	CA	92037
La Verne Stadium 12	La Verne	CA	91750
Long Beach Stadium 26	Long Beach	CA	90808
Century City 15	Los Angeles	CA	90067
Ontario Mills 30	Ontario	CA	91764
Ontario Mountain Village Stadium 14	Ontario	CA	91762
The Block 30	Orange	CA	92868
Rancho Mirage Stadium 16	Rancho Mirage	CA	92270
Jurupa Stadium 14	Riverside	CA	92509
Riverside Plaza Stadium 16	Riverside	CA	92506
Avenues Stadium 13	Rolling Hills Estates	CA	90274
Natomas Marketplace Stadium 16	Sacramento	CA	95834
Mission Valley 20	San Diego	CA	92108
Fashion Valley 18	San Diego	CA	92108
Mira Mesa Stadium 18	San Diego	CA	92126
San Jacinto Metro 12	San Jacinto	CA	92583
Saratoga 14	San Jose	CA	95130
Civic Center Stadium 16	Simi Valley	CA	93065
South Gate Stadium 20	South Gate	CA	90280
Stockton Ciry Centre Stadium 16	Stockton	CA	95202
Temecula Stadium 15	Temecula	CA	92591
Turlock Stadium 14	Turlock	CA	95380
Visalia Sequoia Mall 12	Visalia	CA	93277
West Covina Stadium 18	West Covina	CA	91790
Promenade 16	Woodland Hills	CA	91367
Eastridge 15	San Jose	CA	95122
Tinseltown	Col. Springs	CO	80906
Denver Pavilions 15	Denver	CO	80202
Greenwood Plaza 12	Englewood	CO	80112
Canyon View 14	Grand Junction	CO	81505
Highlands Ranch 24	Highlands Ranch	CO	80126
Colorado Mills	Lakewood	CO	80401
Meadows 12	Littleton	CO	80124
Westmister Promenade 24	Westminster	CO	80030
Branford 12	Branford	CT	06405
Stratford 14	Stratford	CT	06614
Brass Mill 12	Waterbury	CT	06706
Gallery Place Stadium 14	Washington	DC	20001
Peoples Plaza Cinema Stadium 17	Newark	DE	19702
Brandywine Town Center 16	Wilmington	DE	19803
Altamonte 18	Altamonte Springs	FL	32701
Aventura Mall 24	Aventura	FL	33180
Shadowood 16	Boca Raton	FL	33434
Bonita Springs Stadium 12	Bonita Springs	FL	34135
Regency 20-b	Brandon	FL	33511
Magnolia Place Stadium 16	Coral Springs	FL	33076
Delray Beach 18	Delray Beach	FL	33483
Belltower 20	Ft Myers	FL	33907
Cypress Creek Station Stadium 16	Ft. Lauderdale	FL	33334
Royal Park Stadium 16	Gainesville	FL	32607
Oakwood 18	Hollywood	FL	33020
Regency Jax 24	Jacksonville	FL	32225
Treasure Coast Mall Stadium 16	Jenson Beach	FL	34957
The Loop Stadium 16	Kissimmee	FL	34741
Pleasure 24	Lake Buena Vista	FL	32830
Palace 18	Miami	FL	33175
Movies @ The Falls 12	Miami	FL	33176
South Beach Stadium 18	Miami Beach	FL	33139
Hollywood Stadium 20	Naples	FL	34109
Hollywood Stadium 16	Ocala	FL	34474
Woodland Square 20	Oldsmar	FL	34677
Orange Pk 24	Orange Park	FL	32073
Waterford Lakes Stadium 20	Orlando	FL	32828
Oviedo Marketplace Stadium 22	Oviedo	FL	32765
Westfork Stadium 13	Pembroke Pines	FL	33027
Park Place Stadium 16	Pinellas Park	FL	33781
Town Center Stadium 16	Port Charlotte	FL	33948
Hollywood 18, Port Richey	Port Richey	FL	34668
Royal Palm Beach Stadium 18	Royal Palm Beach	FL	33411
Hollywood Stadium 20	Sarasota	FL	34236
Sunset Place 24	South Miami	FL	33143
Sawgrass Stadium 23	Sunrise	FL	33323
Governors Square Stadium 12	Tallahassee	FL	32301
Citrus Park Stadium 20	Tampa	FL	33625
Winter Park Village Stadium 20	Winter Park	FL	32789
Beechwood Stadium Cinemas 11	Athens	GA	30606
Atlantic Station Stadium 16	Atlanta	GA	30363
Augusta Exchange Stadium 20	Augusta	GA	30909
RGL Stadium 22 @ Austell	Austell	GA	30106
Mall Of Georgia Stadium 20	Buford	GA	30519
Hollywood Stadium 24	Chamblee	GA	30341
Arbor Place Stadium 18	Douglasville	GA	30135
Medlock Crossing Stadium 18	Duluth	GA	30097
Hollywood Stadium Cinemas	Gainesville	GA	30501
Barrett Commons 24	Kennesaw	GA	30144
Discover Mills 18	Lawrenceville	GA	30043
Southlake Pavilion 24	Morrow	GA	30260
Snellville Oaks Stadium 14	Snellville	GA	30078
Valdosta Stadium Cinemas	Valdosta	GA	31602
Galleria Mall Stadium Cinemas	Warner Robins	GA	31208
Movies 12	Ames	IA	50010
Grand Teton Stadium 14	Ammon	ID	83406
Boise Stadium 21 & Imax	Boise	ID	83709
Nampa Stadium 14	Nampa	ID	83651
River E 21	Chicago	IL	60611
Showplace 16	Crystal Lake	IL	60014
Lincolnshire Stadium 20	Lincolnshire	IL	60069
Round Lake Beach Stadium 18	Round Lake Beach	IL	60073
South Barrington 30	South Barrington	IL	60010
Cantera 30	Warrenville	IL	60555
Shiloh Crossing Stadium 18	Avon	IN	46123
Village Park Cinema Stadium 17	Carmel	IN	46032
Coldwater Crossing 14	Fort Wayne	IN	46825
Galaxy Stadium 14	Indianapolis	IN	46256
Movies 14	Mishawaka	IN	46545
Studio 29- Olathe Station	Olathe	KS	66062
Hamburg Pavilion Stadium 16	Lexington	KY	40509
Tinseltown	Louisville	KY	40241
Kentucky Oaks Mall	Paducah	KY	42001
Louisiana Boardwalk 14	Bossier City	LA	71111
Cinemark Lake Charles	Lake Charles	LA	70601
Tinseltown 17	W. Monroe	LA	71291
Bellingham 14	Bellingham	MA	02019
Fenway 13	Boston	MA	02115
Framingham 15	Framingham	MA	01701
Hampshire Mall 12	Hadley	MA	01035
Cape Cod Mall 12	Hyannis	MA	02601
Independence Mall 14	Kingston	MA	02364
Solomon Pond 15	Marlborough	MA	01752
Swansea 12	Swansea	MA	02777
Westborough Cinemas 12	Westborough	MA	01581
Bel Air Cinema Stadium 14	Abingdon	MD	21009
Bowie 14	Bowie	MD	20716
Columbia Mall 14	Columbia	MD	21044
Westview 16	Frederick	MD	21704
Germantown 14	Germantown	MD	20874
Valley Mall 16	Hagerstown	MD	21740
Hunt Valley 12	Hunt Valley	MD	21031
Salisbury	Salisbury	MD	21804
Livonia 20	Livonia	MI	48152
Commerce Township Stadium 14	Walled Lake	MI	48390
Eagan Stadium 16	Eagan	MN	55122
Eden Prairie Mall 18	Eden Prairie	MN	55344
Brooklyn Center Stadium 20	Minneapolis	MN	55430
Chesterfield 14	Chesterfield	MO	63017
St. Louis Mills 18	Hazelwood	MO	63042
Kansas City Stadium 18 Cinemas	Kansas City	MO	64161
Cinemark 16	Gulfport	MS	39503
Tinseltown USA	Pearl	MS	39208
Hollywood Cinemas 14	Asheville	NC	28803
Stonecrest At Piper Glen Stadium 22	Charlotte	NC	28277
Starlight Stadium Cinemas 14	Charlotte	NC	28262
Concord Mills 24	Concord	NC	28027
Movies @ Franklin Square 14	Gastonia	NC	28056
Movies @ Birkdale 16	Huntersville	NC	28078
Movies @ Brier Creek 14	Raleigh	NC	27617
Movies @ North Hills 14	Raleigh	NC	27609
Newington 15	Newington	NH	03801
Burlington Stadium 20	Burlington	NJ	08016
Clifton Commons 16	Clifton	NJ	07014
Hamilton 24	Hamilton	NJ	08619
Hamilton Commons 14	Mays Landing	NJ	08330
Commerce Center Stadium 18	North Brunswick	NJ	08902
Pohatcong 12	Phillipsburg	NJ	08865
UA Washington Township 14	Sewell	NJ	08080
Hadley Theatre Stadium 16	South Plainfield	NJ	07080
Cross Keys Cinema Stadium 12	Turnersville	NJ	08012
Cumberland Mall Stadium 14	Vineland	NJ	08360
Cottonwood Stadium 16	Albuquerque	NM	87114
Sunset Station Stadium 13 Theatre	Henderson	NV	89014
RGL Station Red Rock 15	Las Vegas	NV	89135
Texas Station Stadium 18	Las Vegas	NV	89030
Village Square Stadium 18	Las Vegas	NV	89117
Crossgates 18	Albany	NY	12203
Kaufman Astoria Stadium 14	Astoria	NY	11101
Bay Plaza 13	Bronx	NY	10475
Sheepshead Bay 14	Brooklyn	NY	11235
Elmwood RGL Center 16	Buffalo	NY	14207
Hudson Valley Mall 12	Kingston	NY	12401
New Roc City Stadium 18 Plus Imax	New Rochelle	NY	10801
Empire 25	New York	NY	10036
Union Square Stadium 14	New York	NY	10003
Hollywood Stadium 12	Niagara Falls	NY	14304
Quaker Crossing Stadium 18	Orchard Park	NY	14127
Henrietta Cinema Stadium 18	Rochester	NY	14623
Staten Island Stadium 16	Staten Island	NY	10303
Carousel 17	Syracuse	NY	13290
Eastview Mall 13	Victor	NY	14564
Westbury Theatre Stadium 12	Westbury	NY	11590
Transit Center Stadium 18 Plus Imax	Williamsville	NY	14221
Interstate Park Cinema Stadium 18	Akron	OH	44312
Montrose Movies Stadium 12	Akron	OH	44333
Hollywood Stadium 20 @ Fairfield Commons	Beavercreek	OH	45431
Middleburg Town Square Stadium 16	Cleveland	OH	44130
Severance Town Center Stadium 14	Cleveland Heights	OH	44118
Lennox 24	Columbus	OH	43212
Easton Town Center 30	Columbus	OH	43219
Cobblestone Square Stadium 20	Elyria	OH	44035
American Mall	Lima	OH	45805
Medina Stadium 16	Medina	OH	44256
Crocker Park Stadium 16	Westlake	OH	44145
Willoughby Commons Stadium 16	Willoughby	OH	44094
Colony Square Mall	Zanesville	OH	43701
Tinseltown USA	Oklahoma City	OK	73111
Cinemark Tulsa	Tulsa	OK	74133
Old Mill Stadium 16	Bend	OR	97702
Evergreen Parkway Stadium 13	Hillsboro	OR	97124
Tinseltown	Medford	OR	97501
Division Street 13	Portland	OR	97236
Bridgeport 18	Tigard	OR	97224
Neshaminy 24	Bensalem	PA	19020
Downingtown Cinema Stadium 16	Downingtown	PA	19335
Barn Plaza Stadium 14	Doylestown	PA	18901
Northhampton Cinema 14	Easton	PA	18045
Tinseltown USA	Erie	PA	16509
Harrisburg 14	Harrisburg	PA	17112
King Of Prussia Stadium 16	King of Prussia	PA	19406
Manor Stadium 16	Lancaster	PA	17603
Cinemark 20	Moosic	PA	18507
Marketplace @ Oaks Stadium 24	Oaks	PA	19456
Riverview Plaza 17	Philadelphia	PA	19147
Cinemark Pittsburgh Mills	Pittsburg	PA	15084
Warrington Crossing Stadium 22	Warrington	PA	18976
West Manchester Mall Stadium 13	York	PA	17404
Starlight Anderson Cinema 14	Anderson	SC	29621
Sandhill Cinema 16	Columbia	SC	29229
Hollywood Stadium 20	Greenville	SC	29607
Movies @ Mt. Pleasant Stadium 12	Mount Pleasant	SC	29465
Charles Towne Square Stadium 18	North Charleston	SC	29406
Movies @ Azalea Square 16	Summerville	SC	29483
The Pinnacle @ Turkey Creek	Knoxville	TN	37922
Hollywood Stadium 27 - Nashville	Nashville	TN	37204
Green Hills Stadium 16	Nashville	TN	37215
Opry Mills Stadium 20 Plus Imax	Nashville	TN	37214
Amarillo Star Stadium 14	Amarillo	TX	79124
Parks At Arlington 18	Arlington	TX	76015
Gateway Stadium 16	Austin	TX	78759
Metropolitan Stadium 14	Austin	TX	78745
Tinseltown 15	Beaumont	TX	77705
Hollywood USA	College Station	TX	77845
Northpark 15	Dallas	TX	75231
Cielo Vista Mall	El Paso	TX	79925
Cinemark 16	Harlingen	TX	78550
Willowbrook 24	Houston	TX	77064
Studio 30- Hou	Houston	TX	77063
Gulf Pointe 30	Houston	TX	77089
Mall Del Norte	Laredo	TX	78041
Live Oak Stadium 18	Liveoak	TX	78233
Movies 16	Lubbock	TX	79424
Mesquite 30	Mesquite	TX	75149
Cinemark Legacy	Plano	TX	75025
Cinemark Round Rock	Round Rock	TX	78664
Tinseltown	San Angelo	TX	76901
Cielo Vista Stadium 18	San Antonio	TX	78238
Alamo Quarry Stadium 16	San Antonio	TX	78209
Cinemark Sherman	Sherman	TX	75091
Victoria 12	Victoria	TX	77904
Parker Square 14	Witchita Falls	TX	76308
Cinemark 24 Jordan Crossing	West Jordan	UT	84084
Hoffman Center 22	Alexandria	VA	22314
Tinseltown USA	Bristol	VA	24201
Greenbrier Cinema 13	Chesapeake	VA	23320
Danville Stadium Cinemas	Danville	VA	24541
Fredericksburg 15	Fredericksburg	VA	22401
Virginia Center Stadium 20	Glen Allen	VA	23059
Hampton 24	Hampton	VA	23666
Tyson's Corner 16	Mclean	VA	22102
Kiln Creek Cinema Stadium 20	Newport News	VA	23602
Macarthur Center Stadium 18	Norfolk	VA	23510
Shortpump Stadium 14	Richmond	VA	23233
Countryside Stadium 20	Sterling	VA	20165
Strawbridge Mktplace Stadium 12	Virginia Beach	VA	23454
Potomac 18	Woodbridge	VA	22192
Auburn Stadium 17 Theatres	Auburn	WA	98001
Everett Mall 16	Everett	WA	98208
Martin Village 16	Lacey	WA	98516
Lakewood Cinema Stadium 15	Lakewood	WA	98499
Marysville Cinema 14	Marysville	WA	98270
Longston Place Stadium 14	Puyallup	WA	98373
Pacific Place 11	Seattle	WA	98101
Northtown Mall Stadium 12	Spokane	WA	99207
Spokane Valley Stadium 12	Spokane	WA	99216
Cascade Stadium 16 Cinemas	Vancouver	WA	98683
College Avenue Stadium 16	Appleton	WI	54915
Tinseltown USA	Kenosha	WI	53142

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