Hyperchannel 22: Not All Clowns Are Funny

Top 10 Least Threatening Star Trek Villains

Running Time: 19 minutes 8 seconds

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Top 10 Least Threatening Villains

Star Trek has given us a lot of incredible villains. Khan, the Borg, and Gul Dukat comes immediately to mind. But the franchise has also given us a lot of less-than-threatening villains as well—and I'm not talking about Neelix's leola root stew. Charlie Jane Anders on io9 has compiled a list of the 10 Least Threatening Star Trek Villains, and we share out thoughts on the choices in today's Hyperchannel.

Read the full list and justifications for not being threatening on io9.

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Hyperchannel 21: Leonard McCoy's Magic Pills

Phase II: Concept Art from Mike Minor's Drawing Board | Making Dr. McCoy's Magic Pills Real

Running Time: 18 minutes 45 seconds

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Phase II: Concept Art from Mike Minor's Drawing Board

In 1977, Paramount Pictures envisioned a new five year mission for the Enterprise. Although illustrator Mike Minor (who also worked on TOS, The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan—and who was the uncredited creator of "The Tholian Web"—created concept art for the project, titled Phase II, the show was never realized. However, several pieces of Minor's concept art for the show have recently been released, showing designs for engineering, the captain’s quarters, a cargo hold, and a recreation room.

View Minor's Phase II artwork on ScienceFiction.com.

Making Dr. McCoy's Magic Pills Real

When the crew of the Enterprise traveled back to 1986 San Francisco, the most shocking thing to Bones wasn't chaotic traffic or computer input via mouse, it was the primitive state of medicine. Taking inspiration from Star Trek, doctors today are working to make things like Dr. McCoy's magic pills—which apparently grow new kidneys. A breakthrough by Gladstone Institutes allows scientists to transform skin cells into heart muscle cells, which could eventually lead to the development of Star Trek-like treatments for a wide range of ailments. 

Read the full Treknosis column on StarTrek.com

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Hyperchannel 20: DIY Enterprise

DIY Enterprise: The Next Generation of 3-D Printing | George Takei Tweet Boosts Solar Roadways

Running Time: 17 minutes 49 seconds

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DIY Enterprise: The Next Generation of 3-D Printing

What do you do when you want to depict the destruction of the USS Enterprise from The Search for Spock, but all you have on hand is the Millennium Falcon—and you only have 15 minutes to remedy the situation? You 3D print the Enterprise, of course! This is 2014 after all. But even this solution could normally take five hours. What you need is a miracle. But don't call Scotty! Instead, call Yong Chen of the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering. In a new video produced by the school, the venerable 1701 is resurrected in just 15 minutes.

Watch the video on StarTrek.com.
 

George Takei Tweet Boosts Solar Roadways

When Sulu speaks, people listen—and jump into action for a good cause. When George Takei heard about a project to revolutionize streets and sidewalks, turning them into energy generators that can power cities, he tweeted the info out to his 8 million Twitter followers. The next day, the Indiegogo campaign to fund the project, which is the brainchild of North Idaho couple Scott and Julie Brusaw, passed it's $1 million goal—and it hasn't looked back since.

View the Indiegogo campaign and find out more about the project.

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Hyperchannel 19: Happy Planet Forbidden Day

Celebrating 30 Years of The Search for Spock | Teleportation Could Become Reality… Eventually

Running Time: 16 minutes 24 seconds

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Celebrating 30 Years of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

After Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan breathed new life and excitement in to Star Trek in 1982, fans were eager for the next adventure of the USS Enterprise. There was just one problem: the ship would be setting sail without a key member of her crew—Spock. Fortunately we only had to live without our favorite Vulcan for two years before Harve Bennett gave him back to us in 1984. As hard as it is to believe, it's now been 30 years since Kirk violated orders and returned to Genesis. June 1 isn't known as Planet Forbidden Day; but it should be. It was on June 1, 1984, that Star Trek III premiered, and to commemorate the occassion StarTrek.com provides a trivia-filled look back.

Read the StarTrek.com's look back at the film.
 

Teleportation Could Become Reality… Eventually

Do you hate to travel? Not the part where you visit new and exciting places—or family and friends who live far away—but the part where you sit on an airplane for five hours. Ever wish you could simply beam to Hawai'i for an afternoon on the beach or to Las Vegas for the Star Trek convention? If so, it seems there is nothing in the laws of physics stopping you from doing it. All you need is some technological and scientific advancement, along with a lot of patience—because it isn't happening anytime soon. But scientists at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands are proving that it is possible, and say that it could become a reality in the far future.

Read the full piece—including an explanation of the experiment—from The Telegraph.

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Hyperchannel 18: Live at the Apollo

CNN remembers "Plato's Stepchildren" (more or less) | Lost Apollo continues the Five Year Mission in TOS style

Running Time: 16 minutes 13 seconds

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CNN remembers "Plato's Stepchildren" (more or less)

As part of its current retrospective on the 1960s, CNN highlighted the Original Series episode "Plato's Stepchildren" as an example of how, in that tumultuous decade, "Television [began] to tackle serious issues." As long-time fans know, this third-season episode is best remembered for a moment often touted as network television's first interracial kiss, when the telepathic Platonians force Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura to lock lips. Unfortunately, CNN didn't summarize the episode with 100% accuracy, but it still highlights the importance of Star Trek in breaking new ground.

Read the full CNN article, "5 surpising things 1960s TV change."
 

Lost Apollo continues the Five Year Mission in TOS style

Since 2009 we've gotten roughly four hours of content from the rebooted J.J. Abrams Star Trek. That's barely one new TV episode per year. At the end of Into Darkness the Enteprise is ready to finally start that famous five-year mission. Of course, we'll never see it in any substance in the theatre. IDW, however, is bringing us the adventure in comic form through the Star Trek Ongoing series. The last issue, "Lost Apollo, Part 1" delivers the goods with a story that feels very reminiscent of The Original Series.

Read TrekCore's review by Patrick Hayes.

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