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Star Trek fans seemed excited to learn that David Frankham, who turned 99 years old on February 16, is now the oldest living actor to have appeared in any iteration of Star Trek. He played Larry Marvick in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?,” which first aired in 1968, during the show’s third and final season. It got us wondering who Star Trek’s oldest living director might be.

For obvious reasons, many people who guessed that 94-year-old William Shatner is Star Trek’s oldest living actor also likely assume that Shatner -- who helmed Star Trek V: The Final Frontier -- is the franchise’s oldest living director. But he’s not.

The answer is Ralph Senensky, who will turn 102 on May 1. Senensky called the shots on what he refers to as six and a half episodes of The Original Series. We’ll explain...

William Shatner will turn 94 years young on March 22, while George Takei will hit 88 on April 20, Walter Koenig will reach the 89-year mark in September, and Patrick Stewart will celebrate his 85th birthday on July 13. Those imminent birthdays got us wondering: Who is the oldest living Star Trek actor? This can be any performer from any series or movie.

We scoured the internet, cross-referencing Star Trek, actors and actresses, and birth years. Laurence Luckinbill, who played Sybok in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, is 90. James Cromwell, who guest-starred in several episodes of several shows across the franchise and co-starred in Star Trek: First Contact, will turn 86 next January. Marsha Hunt, who guest starred as Anne Jameson in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Too Short a Season,” was 104 when she died in 2022. Norman Lloyd, who portrayed Galen in the Next Generation episode “The Chase,” was 106 when he passed away in 2021. Olaf Pooley,...

In the "Star Trek" episode "Metamorphosis", an important dignitary named Commissioner Nancy Hedford (Elinor Donohue) is being transported to the U.S.S. Enterprise to undergo a complex medical procedure that can only be performed on the ship. She is afflicted with a fast-moving condition called Sukaro's Disease which, if not treated, could prove fatal within a few days, even though Commissioner Hedford has no discernible symptoms. Unfortunately for her, Hedford's shuttle is randomly attacked by a shape-shifting blob of energy and pulled down to the surface of a nearby planet. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) have to find a way to repair the shuttle and get the Commissioner back to the Enterprise before her condition worsens.

They are not alone on the planet. Zefram Cochrane (Glenn Corbett) is living there. This is unusual, as Zefram Cochrane -- the inventor of faster-than-light travel...

Burgess Meredith had a damn good run. He became a Broadway and film star almost simultaneously in the 1930s via his starring role in the Sacco and Vanzetti-based drama "Winterset," and turned in an unforgettable portrayal of George opposite Lon Chaney Jr.'s Lennie in Lewis Milestone's 1939 adaptation of "Of Mice and Men." He worked steadily, tirelessly until his death at the age of 89 in 1997. He was the Penguin on ABC's "Batman," the Italian Stallion's gruff-but-lovable trainer Mickey Goldmill in five "Rocky" movies, and Jack Lemon's surly Pops in the "Grumpy Old Men" movies.

And he was fortunate enough to appear in four particularly memorable "Twilight Zone" episodes.

Meredith's finest half-hour in the land of both shadow and substance, or things and ideas was obviously "Time Enough at Last," where he stars as a bibliophile who survives a nuclear apocalypse (and winds up wishing he didn't). The...

A note on revisionism: as many of you out there no doubt already know, it's become de rigueur for studios, corporations and filmmakers themselves to continue to tinker with their works. George Lucas and his "Special Editions" (and subsequent re-revisions) of the "Star Wars" films are the most prominent example of this, and the most illustrative of the concept's drawbacks. For while the idea of a "Director's Cut" or alternate version is a phenomenon that's been employed by everyone from Richard Donner to Michael Mann, Lucas' changes to "Star Wars" were part creative-minded, part "future-proofing" in terms of updating the visual effects to better conform with the Prequel Trilogy.

The most egregious victim of this trend is the original "Star Trek" TV series. Given that "Trek" had gained a (I believe erroneous) reputation for containing chintzy, so-called "dated" visual effects, CBS Television made the choice in 2006 to remaster the 1960s...

Since its first entry “The Man Trap” aired on Sept. 8 1966, Star Trek has released almost 900 episodes and 13 feature films. And yet, none of those TV episodes or movie releases have delved into that most popular of genres, the Christmas story.

Anyone who knows about the production of The Original Series can understand the reason for that omission. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry placed religion alongside racism and capitalism as divisive tendencies from which humanity evolves. So of course a holiday based on Christianity and/or shopping would fade away as humans looked toward the stars.

But as is often the case, the actual execution of Star Trek differs wildly from Roddenberry’s intentions. Even though the franchise never openly embraces Christmas, some aspects of the holiday do catch up with it, no matter how far it boldly goes.

Does Starfleet Know It’s Christmas Time at All?

The first mention...

Polly Bergen: 'Desperate Housewives' Emmy nominee; winner for 'The Helen Morgan Story' (photo: Felicity Huffman, Doug Savant, and Polly Bergen in 'Desperate Housewives') (See previous article: "Polly Bergen: Actress on Richard Nixon 'Enemies List'.") Polly Bergen began her lengthy — and to some extent prestigious — television career in 1950, making sporadic appearances in anthology series. She won an Emmy for Best Actress in a Single Performance – Lead or Supporting — beating Julie Andrews, Helen Hayes, Teresa Wright, and Piper Laurie — for playing troubled torch singer Helen Morgan (Show Boat) in the 1957 Playhouse 90 episode "The Helen Morgan Story," featuring veteran Sylvia Sidney as Morgan's mother. Curiously, Bergen's retelling of Helen Morgan's story was broadcast the same year that Ann Blyth starred in Michael Curtiz's Morgan biopic. Also titled The Helen Morgan Story, the film focused on the relationship between the singer and a...