CFF Interview: Shawn Doyle on his film Ashgrove (and also Star Trek: Discovery)

Shawn Doyle

Salutations applications, and welcome to an Awesome Friday Interview with actor Shawn Doyle! A native of Newfoundland, Shawn has been working steadily in film and television since the early 1990s, and in just the last few years has racked up an impressive filmography that includes recurring appearances in The Expanse, Hannibal, Cardinal (for which he won a Canadian Screen Award last year) and most recently Star Trek: Discovery.

This year he has two films in the Canadian Film Festival, Ashgrove and The Last Mark. It’s the former of these two that we sat down to talk about, and it was a genuine pleasure. And yes, because I am huge nerd, I also asked a few questions about his time on Star Trek Discovery.

There are streaming links for the movie on this page, and the episode is live wherever you listen to podcasts (including an embedded player also on this page). Join us!

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Let’s Take a Closer Look at the ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 3 Credits Sequence

Star Trek: Discovery, Season 3

We’re two episodes into the new season of Star Trek: Discovery and so far the jump into the future has created an intriguing new status quo for the crew to explore, and both episodes have been good!

The opening credits sequence –already one of the more visually beautiful title sequences on TV– has seen some updates to reflect that new status quo, so let’s take a look at those now.

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‘StarTrek: Lower Decks’ is an excellent show and excellent Star Trek

Star Trek: Lower Decks

I don’t think it’s a secret that Star Trek is my favourite thing. I grew up watching both Captain Kirk’s Enterprise in re-runs and Captain Picard’s Enterprise as it aired. I have seen every episode of television and every film at least twice, and probably more. I’m not telling you this so much to brag as I am to establish my bonafides. I love Star Trek, but I also know Star Trek.

So when I tell you that Star Trek: Lower Decks is a both a good show and good Star Trek, you can believe me when I say it.

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Leonard Nimoy Has Died At 83

Very sad news this morning that Leonard Nimoy has passed away, a few days after being admitted to hospital for chest pains. It’s very telling that, while lovers of specific science fiction series are quick to point out the flaws of others, no-one ever touched Spock. Everyone loved him, thanks to the gravitas and humanity that Nimoy brought to what could so easily have been a stereotypical impassive alien character so common at the time. As a person, he was a lover of culture and art and never stopped his message of love and acceptance.

I’m obviously not the *Star Trek* fanboy of the Awesome Friday partnership, so I’m sure there’ll be more reflections on this over the coming week. In the mean time, we send our thoughts to his family. RIP.

Now go and watch some *Star Trek*.

Star Trek 3 Will Be Directed By Justin Lin

Justin Lin

A while back Roberto Orci was removed from the directors chair of Star Trek 3. This is a good thing. He’s not a great writer (or even a good one) but he keeps getting jobs with popular franchises and as a result keeps getting hired. Star Trek 3 would have been his directorial début as well and while I’m sure he had a vision? At the end of the day you don’t just hand the reins to a franchise like Star Trek to a first timer.

So he was removed and today it was announced that Justin Lin, he of the Fast and Furious Franchise, has been hired to replace him. I’m going to tentatively say this is a good move. Lin is a good director of action and of large ensembles. His films are fun and engaging and heartfelt. I don’t know that he’s a perfect fit but I think he’s a better fit that Orci. I just hope that they get back to exploring the galaxy as well as our own morality rather than the “holy shit look at that explosion!” style we’ve gotten lately.

(source: [Deadline](http://deadline.com/2014/12/star-trek-3-justin-lin-director-fast-furious-helmer-1201333753/))

Awesome: What ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ Would Have Looked Like In Widescreen

Star Trek / Arena

Have you ever wondered what _Star Trek_ would look like if it had been shot in the cinerama wide screen format that we know and love today? I have. And so had artist Nick Acosta, and he did something about it. Using scenes from the show and waiting for the camera to pan and _then_ stitching the resulting images together he came up with these _absolutely incredible_ images. Seriously. They’re amazing. Hit the jump for some of my favourites and more.

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These Are The Episodes… Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s 14 Best Episodes

Deep Space Nine

Hopefully, you’ve at least started watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by now. It’s my favourite Star Trek series, and I believe the most underrated. While a highly serialized story doesn’t seem strange today, you must remember that in the 1990s, it was highly unusual. Syndicated shows like Star Trek generally returned to status quo at the end of each episode. Thus, Deep Space Nine had some of the deepest and most compelling character development in Trek of that era and an ongoing story that was genuinely thoughtful and impactful in a way that its contemporaries weren’t capable of being. 

So this week, as an addition to the viewing guide I’ve already laid out, I’d like to present to you what I believe to be the 14 best episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Just a word of warning, though: the viewing guide, I did my best to keep as spoiler-free as possible. I’m not going to do that here.

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These Are The Episodes… Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 7

Deep Space Nine

So here we are the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The wormhole is sealed. Captain Sisko is on Earth, lost without his connection to The Prophets. Worf is devastated over the end of the season six finale. The war with The Dominion rages across the Alpha Quadrant and goes poorly for the federation. Things are grim, and in this final season, things are only going to get worse before they get better.

Season 7 starts with a two-episode story, but it really shines in the end: the last nine episodes form one story, which wraps up all of the storylines begun in the series.

These are the episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season seven.

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