CAST IS ANNOUNCED FOR NEW ‘STAR TREK’ REVIVAL

Get ready to beam up, Trekkies. The executive producer of “Star Trek,” the 1960s cult TV show that went where no man had gone before, has picked an all-new cast for a revival of the science-fiction adventure, it was announced Saturday.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the original series, which ran from 1966-1969, has picked a Shakespearean-trained British actor, another actor seen predominantly in steamy nighttime soaps, and “Roots” star LeVar Burton to star in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

None of the original cast, however, was brought back, as Roddenberry had hoped, said Lee Helper, a spokesman for the producer.

The new show, produced by Paramount Network Television, is set to debut the weekend of Oct. 3-4 with a two-hour pilot titled “Encounter at Farpoint,” written by Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana.

The series, set in the 24th Century, will follow the voyages of the new Starship Enterprise and the lives of her crew as they journey “to strange new worlds,” Helper said.

To date, the first-run syndicated series has sold in more than 150 markets, representing 90% of the nation’s viewing households, he said.

The captain of the Enterprise is played by Patrick Stewart, an accomplished British actor and former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stewart most recently appeared in “Excalibur” and “Dune.”

Jonathan Frakes will star as the Starfleet’s executive officer and second-in-command. Frakes credits include recurring roles on television’s “Falcon’s Crest,” “Bare Essence” and “Paper Dolls.”

LeVar Burton of “Roots” fame will play a blind lieutenant who “sees” by the use of a prosthetic device worn over his eyes. Denise Crosby, who has appeared in “48 HRS.,” was cast as the starship’s security chief. Soap opera actress Cheryl McFadden will play the ship’s doctor.

Actress Marina Sirtis is a half human, half “betazoid” Starfleet counselor; Brent Spiner plays an android possessing superior strength and a phenomenal memory, and Wil Wheaton, who starred in Rob Reiner’s “Stand By Me,” is cast as the brilliant 15-year-old son of the ship’s doctor.