Ethan Phillips at Central Canadian Comic Con 2011

One more overdue post before I go to the Comic and Toy Expo tomorrow, this one involving one of my favorite Star Trek actors of all time - Ethan Phillips. Ethan Phillips not only played Neelix on Star trek Voyager, but he also played Farek (Ferengi) in the TNG episode "Ménage à Troi, Ulis (Ferengi) in the ENT episode "Acquisition", and the head waiter in Star Trek: First Contact.

I had the privilege of sitting in the front row during the Q&A, but there was no flash allowed so most of the pictures I took were blurry. A couple of them turned out, however:

I got to ask him a question midway through, and I chose to ask him how he felt about the relationship between Neelix and Tuvok. He turned to the crowd and told everybody that I just asked him if he "had always been this good looking", and that he had been (I must agree). He went on to answer my question though, and talked about how - first of all - Tim Russ is nothing like the character he played. I can personally confirm this - he is a very up-beat and blatantly humorous man, nothing like Tuvok. He went on to talk about how Neelix "wore his feelings on his sleeve", something that Tuvok both found distasteful and secretly admired.

Hopefully he will come back to the city in the future, as I would love to see him again. As for this weekend, I will have a chance to speak to Michael Dorn and sit in on/participate in his Q&A. There are also a few guests that are as of yet unannounced - I will be taking pictures.

Benedict Cumberbatch for Star Trek Sequel = Best Thing Ever

I found out this morning that one of my favorite actors is going to play the villain in the upcoming Star Trek "sequel". Benedict Cumberbatch, the man we all fell in love with when he played Sherlock, is that very actor.

It has been suggested that the new villain might be Khan, or a Klingon. Personally, I would love to see him play a more traditional Romulan (as opposed to Nero):

Unfortunately, this is not likely to happen seeing as they used the Romulans as the villain for the last movie. I can't even imagine him playing a Klingon (although I am sure he would make it work, somehow) or a Ferengi (what if they were the bad guys this time?). Or another one of my favorite species, Andorians? What if there were a faction of Andorians rebelling against Starfleet?

It would actually be interesting if they chose a species that was not as well developed, or brought in an entirely new species. They've messed around with the Star Trek universe this much, why not go all out?

I never thought I would be excited to see a new Star Trek movie, but with good ol' Mr. Cumberbatch I suppose anything is possible.

The Worlds of the Federation and Don Ivan Punchatz - 1989

"The Worlds of the Federation", written and illustrated by Shane Johnson, is one of my favorite resources. Inside this 155 page book one finds a historical overview of the United Federation of Planets, the Planetary Classification System (UFP Standard), and overview of all member worlds as well as their planet's primaries and ambassadors - as well as an overview of Neutral, Independent, and Hostile Worlds. One may also find each planet's system profile, planetary emblem, and continental profile.

While Shane Johnson illustrated the pages with drawings of continental systems, ambassadors, emblems, etc. - it was Don Ivan Punchatz who created the stunning color art we see on the cover, as well as inside on the glossed pages (which I will cover at a later date). I will focus now on the image on the front cover:

We also find the same image spread across two pages inside, allowing us to experience this masterpiece in great detail. For those who are unaware of the races depicted, I will go over them and state the episode they first appeared in: (Referring the the images below, Starting in top left, moving clockwise)

• Melkot - Melkatians were seen in TOS: Spectre of the Gun
• Klingon - The Klingons are well known, but first appeared in TOS: Errand of Mercy
• Gorn - First seen in TOS: Arena
• Tellarite - First seen in TOS: Journey to Babel (one of my favorite episodes, as we see Sarek and Amanda for the first time)
• Tribbles - First seen in TOS: The Trouble with Tribbles
• Bynars - First seen in TNG: 11001001
• Benzite - First seen in TNG: Coming of Age

To enlarge the image, right click and open in a new tab or window.

Moving on to the second page, we see the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D over top of the five remaining races:

• Romulan - First seen in TOS: Balance of Terror (played by Mark Lenard, the same man who played Sarek)
• Andorian - First seen in TOS: Journey to babel (What is interesting about this image - is that the Andorian shown below, Thelev, was actually an Orian Assassin in disguise, and not an Andorian at all)
• Phylosian - First seen in TAS: The Infinite Vulcan (another great episode)
• Ferengi - First seen in TNG: The Last Outpost
• Saurian (juvenile) -  First Seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (although Saurian Brandy has been enjoyed in TOS episodes beforehand)

I am absolutely in awe of this piece of art. I have been a fan of Don Ivan Punchatz for a while now, and a lot of his work can be found online - do a quick search on google images and you will understand. Everything he does is absolutely amazing.