Beam me up, Scotty

Star Trek's James Doohan has died. The chief engineer of the starship Enterprise on the original series was 85.

"He accused [fellow actor Bill] Shatner of hogging the camera, adding: 'I like Captain Kirk, but I sure don't like Bill. He's so insecure that all he can think about is himself.'"

G'night, Scotty.

Trek is everywhere on the 'net these days, but Hidden Frontier is a recommended fan site, with new "episodes" featuring gay characters.


MORE TREK: Communications officer Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols, has a part in a new gay superhero flick.... Professor Gavin Lucas is a comic book collector who gains special powers when a science experiment is sabotaged and becomes... Surge.

Nichols has a Canadian connection. In her 1994 autobiography, "Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories," the American writes of an attempted rape in Canada. She was a accomplished stage performer, booked for a show. But she found herself in a lodge in the middle of nowhere, dependent on a ride back to civilization with an "important, respected man in his community." Nichols won't reveal his real name, but she managed to fight him off.

The guy's law partner came to pick her up after she'd been abandoned in a cabin somewhere: "No one will believe a little coloured showgirl from the States," she was told.

Despite the bruises, the cops didn't believe her. She was offered cash to go away, she received threatening phone calls. Amazingly enough in 1950s Canada, the guy was convicted -- even more surprising given a black accuser and a white defendant. Oh, and the would-be rapist's lawyer was the guy who'd driven her back into town after the assault.

Trek, which began broadcasting in 1969, gave blacks a real role model on colour-obsessed television -- Uhura worked with people of all races. And while she had few lines, she was a darned important member of the crew. Uhura was also featured in the first inter-racial TV kiss: "When Bill [Shatner] surmised that this kiss was historic... he demanded that the script be changed. 'If anybody's going to kiss Uhura... It's going to be me -- I mean, Captain Kirk.'"