NEWS ------ * Many of you may have heard that Star Trek VI was nominated for 2 Oscars at the recent Academy Awards presentation. It was nominated for Makeup and Sound Effects Editing, but unfortunately lost out to Terminator 2 in both categories. * Star Trek VI is due for release on rental in the UK on 18th September 1992. However, the version of the film being released in in fact the director's cut with about 4 or 5 minutes of extra footage! This footage has not been in any cinematic version of the movie and the extra scenes add a little more depth to the movie. One of the additional scenes includes a shot where we see Valeris sliding down a fireman's pole (I kid you not!). Also, this footage corrects a couple of mistakes that appeared in the cinema version due to scenes being edited or removed. You'll see what I mean when you rent it. As far as I am aware, there also TWO versions of the film being released, one in the now common wide-screen format, the other being a "normal" TV style. There are also rumours going around that Trek VI will NOT be released on rental, but will instead be released striaght onto sell-thru in December. Well, ignore these rumours if you hear them as they ARE NOT TRUE! * Word has been going around of possible great news for all you TNG fans. Paramount are talking about a new deal for the cast of The Next Generation with the offer of a new 10 year contract to film 4 TNG movies. The idea of offering a long term contract like this would mean that the studio could budget for cast expenses and pay a set amount each year without having to re-negotiate for every movie. The deal will also GUARANTEE the cast will be paid even if The Next Generation is not made. The deal also includes TWO extra seasons of episodes!!!!!!!! This offer hasn't been put to any of the cast as yet, and they have only heard of this deal through other people. However, Richard Arnold has spoken to some of the cast and one of them has already said that they are not really interested in the deal and may not sign on for any further seasons. This mysterious cast member is, surprisingly, Patrick Stewart, who has a number of projects he'd like to do, but wouldn't be able to with the time constraints of filming 2 more seasons of TNG! * However, there is bad news for all TNG fans living in the UK! New episodes of The Next Generation won't be transmitted by the BBC until mid-1994 at the earliest!!! Why? Well, SKY TV now have the exclusive rights to show the series in the UK until that time, as the BBC did before them until July 1992. So if you don't own a satellite dish, the only way you'll get to see episodes is to buy the videos, go to conventions or get the episodes imported from the States. Many fans may be wondering, if that is the case, why after The Best Of Both Worlds Part 2 did the BBC say that "Star Trek will be back later in the year"? Well, starting on August 19th, the BBC will be showing a complete re-run of Classic Trek, starting with "The Cage". This is the first time, at least in the UK anyway, that The Cage has been shown on it's own, outside of the documentary, "From One Generation To The Next". Also on the same nights, straight after Trek, due to start in September is their new magazine programme devoted to sci-fi and comics. * An update with the video releases. It looks highly probably that the TNG video releases will slow down when Season 5 is released to just ONE TAPE per month. Why? Well, Paramount have decided that video releases of the episodes should be AT LEAST one year behind their US transmission dates. * As many of you will have heard, Richard Arnold has now settled his differences with Paramount, although he won't be returning to work at the studio as they still have no intention of re-opening the Star Trek office. However, he is doing consulting work for Paramount on a freelance basis so he is now in the position he was in about 6 years ago. Great to have you back, Richard! * Because of the absence of an office, some of you may be concerned about fan mail and as to whether it will actually reach the cast. All the mail sent to the office is sorted by Guy Vardaman. Some of the TNG cast have an assistant who then deals with the mail, the other cast are left on their own! For all the Classic Trek cast, their mail is held in the Merchandising division and is left there until the cast collect it from the studios themselves! * No doubt many of you will have heard of the sad death last month of Georgia Brown, who played Helena Rozhenko (Worf's mother), following a sudden illness. * It has just been confirmed that James Doohan will be appearing in an episode of the Next Generation in Season 6!! No news of the story as yet, apart from the fact that he will be reprising his role of Scotty, but he will not be playing an "aged" Scotty, it isn't a holodeck or time travel story and he is not playing one of Scotty's descendants!! The episode will be transmitted in late October/early November and is being written by TNG veteran Ronald D. Moore. Season 6 will actually start transmission in the States on 21st September with "Time's Arrow Part 2" (this was filmed in mid-July). There are a few rumours in circulation about the first batch of episodes, including the following:- "Limits" - an episode about unusual events taking place on board the Enterprise which results in the discovery that the warp engines aren't as environmentally friendly as they were once thought. "The Rivals" - planned for Season 5. It's a story about Geordi when he meets up with an old friend who was also one of his greatest rivals. "Rascals" (possibly called "Undercover") - this is the episode from Season 5 that saw crew member reduced to children! This is believed to have been caused by a transporter accident! There are also two Q scripts being considered (whether both or just one of these will be made is uncertain, although as there was NO Q story for Season 5, if the stories are good enough, I don't think two episodes is unlikely). * Back to the videos again! UK Trek fans should look forward to June '93 which promises to be a big month for CIC. Not only will this see the release of Star Trek VI on sell-thru, but also the release of Season 6 of TNG and the video release of Deep Space Nine! You have been warned! As far as Deep Space Nine is concerned, there is no word from CIC video as to whether it is being released on rental first, or straight onto sell-thru. Compiled by Simon Plumbe and Edwin Yau. Thanks to Colin Gunn, Richard Arnold, Guy Vardaman and Chas Evans of CIC Video for their assistance/information.