News of the Week

The man behind Sarek dies at 68

ark Lenard, the actor who portrayed one of the most beloved recurring Star Trek characters in the history of the show, died of multiple myeloma at New York University Hospital in Manhattan on November 22. He was 68.

Lenard was best known to fans as Sarek, the father of Mr. Spock and a character who appeared in the original Star Trek series, several of the Star Trek films and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Lenard also portrayed a Romulan commander in the original series episode "Balance of Terror" as well as a Klingon captain in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which, according to The New York Times, makes him the only Star Trek actor to play members of three separate alien races.

Outside of Star Trek Lenard had many roles in television, film and the theater, including the Broadway productions "Square Root of Wonderful" and "Much Ado About Nothing." The character of Sarek died off screen in the The Next Generation episode "Unification, Part 1," the first episode of Star Trek to air after the death of series' creator Gene Roddenberry.

First Contact pushes box office to Warp 9

tar Trek: First Contact brought in $30.7 million during its opening weekend, helping to boost overall box-office receipts for the two-day, pre-Thanksgiving stretch to just under the $100 million mark. Star Trek was credited with spurring a 16 percent overall gain for the top 50 films between this year and last.

First Contact is the second of the Star Trek films to feature the The Next Generation cast and the eighth overall in the franchise's motion picture legacy. It is the first Star Trek film that does not feature an original series cast member, although like several of its predecessors it does introduce a new version of the starship Enterprise.

HP sponsors science fiction writing contest

he Hewlett-Packard Co. is sponsoring a writing contest for the best short story about what computers will be like in the year 2047, with an HP Omnibook notebook computer as the winning prize. The contest is being held in conjunction with ACM 97, the first worldwide interactive and technology expo on the future of computing.

The contest is open to everyone except Hewlett-Packard employees and professional science fiction writers. Rules and entry forms can be obtained by writing to hpacmwc@dtc.hp.com, by visiting the HP Web site at http://www.hpl.hp.com/acm97/scifi or by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

HP/ACM97 Science Fiction Contest
1501 Page Mill Road -- MS60-A
PO Box 10151
Palo Alto, CA 94303-0889

Entries must be postmarked by Thursday, January 2, 1997.

Fox orders more Millennium

ox Broadcasting has ordered nine more episodes of Millennium, the new Friday night drama from the mind of The X-Files creator Chris Carter. That brings the total season run to 22 episodes for the show, which has been well received by critics, although many fans have complained that it is too dark.

For those readers keeping score, Millennium has been averaging an 8.9 rating and 16 share in households since it moved into the 9-10 p.m. slot on Friday nights, replacing The X-Files, which Fox successfully moved to Sunday nights, also at 9-10 p.m.

NetForce gets BIG toy line from Playmates

IG Entertainment and Playmates Toys Inc. are reportedly set to announce a deal for a major new toy line based on the forthcoming property NetForce by author Tom Clancy. NetForce, about a futuristic force of FBI agents, is already slated for a TV series, a toy line, a series of illustrated books and possibly an animated show.

NetForce is set in the near future and follows an elite FBI group that fights high-tech criminals and terrorists. BIG Entertainment said the various NetForce incarnations will be launched in the next year or so, although the toy line was ready to go into production.

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