Many Star Trek cast members are also known for their musical abilities. Scott Bakula is an accomplished Broadway musical star, Robert Picardo has recorded three CDs of his parody songs, and who could forget William Shatner's numerous singing endeavors?! But for this column I've chosen to spotlight three particular actors - all of whom have appeared as Klingons in a Star Trek episode: Tim Russ, Vaughn Armstrong and Suzie Plakson.

Tim Russ' most recent CD "Second Thoughts" is classified as "Pop" on iTunes, but it has a great mix of blues and rock offerings.

Despite his classically stoic Vulcan character on Voyager, Tim has a strong and emotional voice, and wields a Stratocaster with incredible ability.

Check out "Second Thoughts" and his three previous CDs on Tim's site.

 

 

 

 

Vaughn Armstrong is a frequent guest at Star Trek conventions, and if you've seen him there you've likely heard him strumming his ever-present ukulele and singing a (silly) tune.

He is also the lead singer for the "Enterprise Blues Band" - comprised of fellow Trek actors Casey Biggs, Richard Herd and Steve Rankin, visual-effects wizard Ron B. Moore, and actor William Jones.

The EBB has two CDs available for sale at their site ebluesband.com.

 

 

Suzie Plakson is not only a fine actor, but a talented songwriter and singer as well! Her just-released CD titled "DidnWannaDoIt!" features nine tunes that she penned.

Her eclectic song selection reflects her wide range of musical interests, from country to ballad to even a couple of humorous novelty offerings.

All the tunes are worth a listen, but definitely don't miss the tongue-in-cheek autobiographical title track.

You can hear samples of these nine songs, plus full-length versions of seven other tunes on her site SuziePlakson.com. The CD is also available at CD Baby.

 

 

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Star Trek Remastered

This weekend's remastered episode "The Empath" first aired in the middle of the last season: episode 63 was shown on December 6, 1968. It was from an original script by Joyce Muskat.

Joyce Muskat is one of the rare fan writers who sold scripts to the original series. This was her only produced script.

This was director John Erman's only Star Trek episode, though he had worked on The Outer Limits and helmed many episodes of My Favorite Martian prior to Trek. Memory Alpha points out that an Outer Limits episode titled "Nightmare" bore a striking resemblance to "The Empath", and Erman directed both of them. In both episodes - directed by Erman - humans are tortured and interrogated by aliens. Willard Sage, who played Thann in this episode, also portrayed one of the interrogators in "Nightmare".

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Not-So Remastered Trivia

They all played Klingons, did they? Tell me the episodes in which Tim Russ, Vaughn Armstrong and Suzie Plakson each played a member of that noble warrior race. Extra credit is available for the extra-curricular (non-television) work.

Send your answer to me at mwade@roddenberry.com

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Star Trek Family Birthdays

We admired her as Kira Nerys on seven seasons of DS9, and now we send birthday greetings to Nana Visitor, celebrating on July 26.

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Stay Tuned!

Part 2 of this week's column, which will be published on Tuesday, July 29, will feature a special announcement. Don't miss it!

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