If you happen to be “across the pond” between now and September you will have the wonderful opportunity to see Sir Patrick Stewart perform at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, in a modern day production of “The Merchant of Venice”

The London Evening Standard describes the play thusly; Set in modern Las Vegas, it has the dash of Ocean's Eleven, the verve of Legally Blonde and a demented delightfulness all of its own. Yet it's still palpably Shakespeare's protean drama about racial intolerance and the dark side of capitalism.

Starz Entertainment has announced that Nana Visitor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and John DeLancie (Next Gen, DS9, Voy) will be among the guest stars in their new 10-episode, hour-long series, “Torchwood: Miracle Day”. For those unfamiliar with the show, "Torchwood" was created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies' 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction program "Doctor Who". We were kinda hoping that a Bajoran and a Omnipotent being were new additions to the show's characters, but no luck...

We agree, completely.... In an ongoing BBC.co.uk series called "Five Minutes With:", Matthew Stadlen sits down with celebrities and news-makers to question them for exactly five minutes.  With giant clock in hand, Matthew puts Sir Patrick Stewart is in the hot seat.  The Captain revealed that he is learning the harmonica, has been in 28 of the 37 known Shakespearean plays, and that TNG "changed everything" in his life and career.  

Patrick Explains; "Right up until 1987, when I went to Hollywood to start filming Star Trek: The Next Generation, if you didn't go to the Royal Shakespearan Company you'd never heard Patrick Stewart"  

When asked if there had been a highlight in his career, Patrick added; "It would have to be Star Trek: The Next Generation... After that series was such a huge success, which it was immediately, everything was changed for me."

With so many new comic conventions across the country, Trek fans have a better chance at seeing their favorite stars than ever before. Detroit area fans can get up close and personal with two captains & an android. That's right, Brent Spiner, George Takei, and Kate Mulgrew will be heading to Michigan May 13th through the 15th for the upcoming Motor City ComiCon. Described as Michigan's largest comic book convention, the MCCC has been bringing awesome guests to the Motor City since 1989. Besides getting the rare chance to see Kate, the show is also packing two Brady's, a Cylon, three Colonial Warriors, and a slew of other guests. Check out the full media guest list and show details below.

So you saw the reminder about Dallas Comic Con,  the other day…now here’s the 2nd part of the Texas convention double-header this May! Next Gen’s very own counselor Troi is going to be meeting, talking with, and signing autographs for Houston area fans at Comicpalooza May 27-29. Hmmm…do you think she’ll be wearing her jumpsuit? Well, even if she’s not, we can’t wait to see her and hear what she has to say. It will be a true treat seeing her for the first time.

In something that is complete news to us, Brent Spiner has just launched episode 1 & 2 of his brand new web series "Fresh Hell".  We saw the announcement from the big man himself via his popular twitter feed.  In the maiden episode, we learn that Spiner (who plays himself) is reeling from something only known as the "The Incident" that has sent him from super stardom to rock bottom.  Sitting in his lonely apartmenet, Brent watches a TV talk show that implies that OJ Simpson has a better chance of a career recovery than him.  It's pretty funny stuff.

Happy Birthday to our favorite ship's counselor Marina Sirtis. I wonder if she knew that we were going to say that... According to Memory Alpha, Marina was born this day in 1955 in the London Borough of Hackney to Greek parents who initially did not want her to pursue a career in acting. She trained at the Royal Shakespeare Company, affiliated with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, to which she had to apply in secret so her parents would not find out. Once she earned a name for herself in the theater, she went on to television. Having grown up in London, she became a huge soccer fan (her brother plays the sport in Greece), and a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur FC.

If you're in the Orlando, Florida area this weekend, here's your chance to see a Trek living legend and three of the Enterprise-D crew. Megacon is the place and Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, & Marina Sirtis will be there March 25th through the 27th, with a special appearance by William Shatner on Saturday, March 26th. Also on hand all weekend is Robin Curtis, Savek from "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". Here's something we forgot about until just now, Robin also played Tellera in the TNG episodes "Gambit PT I & II". The usual autographs and photo-ops will be available. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, panel schedules and details aren't available. Be sure to check out the convention details and media guest info below.

Thanks to Miles from the Scifi Diner Podcast for giving us the heads-up on this. Tomorrow night (March 14th) Bio Channel's "Shatner's Raw Nerve" is serving up a Star Trek double header, starting off with TNG's LeVar Burton at 10pm / 9pm Central. In the preview clip for the episode, LeVar describes his time on the set of "Roots" and discusses his most difficult scene while filming the mini-series.

"For me 'Roots' is all about... family. It's about who we are, why we are the way we are" Says LeVar. "When I read those first sides for Kunta, I know exactly who this kid was. I had no problem putting myself in all of those situations." LeVar then goes into detail about his most difficult moment on the series.

Check out the LeVar Burton episode preview video here. 

Then if that wasn't enough, Star Trek's Walter Koenig joins The Shat to discuss, among other things, his time after Star Trek's cancelation.