Check out the piece by clicking right here…or, of course, you could click on the big ol’ graphic directly below.

Just in case you’re still on the fence about clicking over, here’s an excerpt from the feature to give you an idea what to expect…

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Storyline: When an alien force of inconceivable power sets its sights on Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk emerges from retirement, swipes the refurbished U.S.S. Enterprise from its new commander, Willard Decker, and sets off to save the planet. Spock, who had left Starfleet in favor of purging his emotions on his home planet of Vulcan, decides that the answers to his spiritual quest may be found with this alien and rejoins his former crewmates. Oh, and there’s also this bald chick…
Villain: V’ger. That’s short for Voyager 6, a space probe launched from Earth way back yonder in the 20th century. The probe was found by an alien race of living machines that interpreted its programming as instructions to learn all that can be learned, and return that information to its creator. Unfortunately, it can’t imagine that its creator can possibly be a “carbon unit,” a skepticism which proves highly problematic for the human race.
What’s good: At the time of its release, the best part was simply seeing the cast together again for the first time since the series’ cancellation, and having a noticeably bigger budget to work with. Nowadays, however, the film is driven by the interaction between the eternal trifecta of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, whether it’s Spock’s pure logic battling against McCoy’s emotions or Kirk’s inability to accept that Decker might actually know something that he doesn’t.
What’s bad: ven Robert Wise’s Director’s Cut of the film still contains some seriously interminable shots, most notably as Admiral Kirk sees the refurbished Enterprise for the first time. There’s a reason my friend Donnie found it more interesting to count the tiles on the movie theater ceiling than watch the film…but, then, he always was more of a “Star Wars” guy. “Trek” fans, meanwhile, have long groused – and rightfully so – that the first big-screen adventure for Kirk and company was, at its heart, little more than an expanded version of an original episode, “The Changeling.”

Most surprising cast member: Stephen Collins as Commander Willard Decker. Collins went on to starring roles in “Tales of the Gold Monkey” and “Tattinger’s,” then followed it up with a recurring role on “Sisters,” but his most memorable role is almost certainly that of Rev. Eric Camden, the patriarch on “7th Heaven.”
“Yeah, but the book was better.” – The novelization of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was actually written by “Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, and it provides several details which, though they aren’t actually in the movie itself, have nonetheless become accepted as fact throughout the “Trek” universe. Most notable is that the character of Willard Decker is actually the son of the late Captain Matt Decker, from “The Doomsday Machine,” an episode of the original series. One that hasn’t taken off, however, is the suggestion that Kirk had a significant romantic relationship with a woman named Lori Ciani during the so-called “lost years” between the series and the movie. Oh, and you really need to read the book’s footnotes. Roddenberry treats the novel like it’s a historical record, and when Spock refers to Kirk as his “t’hy’la,” a Vulcan word which apparently can mean either “brother” or “lover,” it results in a response from Kirk that has spawned one hell of a website.

Now are you tempted? C’mon, just click right here. Go on, you know you want to…

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Premium Hollywood: Hey, Mr. Lloyd, how’re you doing?

Christopher Lloyd: I’m doing great, thank you!

PH: It’s a pleasure to speak with you. So, how did you find your way into the “Knights of Bloodsteel” project in the first place?

CL: I guess they connected with my agent, then my agent called me, I looked over the script, and I decided to do it. (Laughs)

PH: Fair enough! Were you a fan of the sword and sorcery genre?

CL: Yeah, I enjoy science fiction and it’s…I love the imagination. It kind of takes you to places you don’t normally think about, but it’s always in human terms of some sort. I love the characters and the strange creatures, and it’s usually about good and evil of some sort, or good gone wrong. And with “Knights of Bloodsteel,” it’s a really good story and production values, so it’s kind of a treat!

PH: Did you enjoy your wardrobe on the production?

CL: (Laughs) I loved my wardrobe! And the make-up, the hair…the whole thing. It gave me a chance to do a character. And he was serious. He wasn’t just some crazy guy. He’s a guy who’s just trying to save his people, so in that sense, it was kind of a straight role, and it gave me a chance to do something new.

PH: How much make-up was involved for you?

CL: Not really much facially, but I had those couple of fangs, being an elf, and this little mouthpiece. And the elfin ears. Oh, and the wig.

PH: So, comparatively speaking, not too much time in the make-up chair.

CL: No. (Laughs) Though it took a little while to get the ears on just right and make them look like they’re part of me. And the wig took a little while, too. But some of the make-ups I’ve had were three or four hours of sitting there. This was pretty painless.

PH: I wouldn’t think it would compare with being a Klingon.

CL: No. (Laughs) No way! For (“Star Trek III”), I used to go to the lot at 3 or 4 in the morning to be ready at 8 AM. But that was a role I loved playing.

PH: It’s definitely a memorable one. So how was David James Elliot to work with?

CL: He was great. The entire cast was…it’s a really great cast. They all had wonderful looks to them, and it was a strange world we inhabited, with everyone made up the way they were. Many of these characters were…you get to feel like you live in that world, that it’s not just a movie set. It’s a village!

PH: So there wasn’t as much green-screen as people might think?

CL: No, in fact, I don’t think I had any green screen! I don’t remember that there was any, though I might be wrong.

PH: You know, I have to take this opportunity to tell you that I’m a huge fan of your episode of “Amazing Stories,” “Go to the Head of the Class.”

CL: (Laughs) Yes!

PH: That’s pretty much the reason I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll eventually get “Amazing Stories: Season 2” on DVD.

CL: Oh, yeah, that was great fun. Bob Zemeckis was directing, and… (Laughs) …oh, yeah, that was a trip.

PH: I presume that he’s the one who pitched it to you originally.

CL: Yes, because we’d already done at least one of the “Back to the Future” episodes at that point, so we’d worked on that together, and he knew I was prone to or had a predilection to playing those kinds of characters.

PH: I also really enjoyed your role as Harold March in “Stacked.” That was one of those shows which I felt was underrated, mostly because people were just so uncertain about Pamela Anderson being able to hold her own sitcom. But I thought it had a really solid ensemble.

CL: Yeah, we had higher hopes. I felt like it was the type of show that kind of develops and grows as it goes along, as more ideas come into it and we had the different relationships building on it. I just felt like we’d barely gotten started, and then they pulled the plug. Perhaps, as you sort of suggested, the studio didn’t really know how to present it or know what the strong selling point might be. It was a little hard to define it clearly. But, hey, that’s the game. (Laughs)

PH: I know you contributed to a documentary for the latest reissue of the “Back to the Future” trilogy. Do you still enjoy revisiting the films once in awhile for things like that?

CL: Sure. I mean, it was such an amazing experience, all three films. Just great stories. And working with Michael J. Fox and Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale, who wrote it. Wonderful crew, wonderful cast…it was just a great experience.

PH: You’ve actually been in a couple of cult films that I’ve loved, one of which is “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai.”

CL: (With legitimate fondness) Oh, yeah! That was just so original and quirky and, again, they had an amazing cast put together. Sometimes, there have been rumors of a sequel, but I think those died out a long time ago. But it would’ve been nice to carry the story on in some way.

PH: So if they found a way, you’d be up for returning?

CL: Oh, yeah. (Laughs)

PH: What’s your favorite project that you’ve worked on that didn’t get the love you thought it deserved?

CL: Well, you’ve mentioned two of them! I don’t know.

PH: One of the films you’ve worked on, I’ve always wondered about. When you were filming “The Legend of the Lone Ranger,” at the time, was everyone convinced it was going to be the biggest hit in the world?

CL: It seemed to have everything going for it. I mean, it was being very well financed. They had some troubles with the gentleman playing the Lone Ranger (Klinton Spilsbury), because they felt after awhile that he really wasn’t fulfilling the image of the Lone Ranger that they wanted to portray. I mean, his entire vocal track…one of the Keach brothers redid his voice because they didn’t feel like the actor had the voice for it. He looked great. He was a stunning-looking young man. But they didn’t feel he brought the Lone Ranger to it. So it just didn’t go. I haven’t seen it for so long, though. If I saw it again, I might see other reasons that it didn’t work out. (Laughs)

PH: And, lastly, can you talk just a little bit about the experience of working on “Taxi”?

CL: I thought the ensemble was amazing. I had just come out from New York, where all my work had been in theater, and I had a bit of an attitude about sitcoms. It was Hollywood, and if you’re a bona fide theater actor in New York, you kind of look at sitcoms as an inferior place to be working. I remember coming onto the set of “Taxi” and watching them rehearse, and I just thought, “These people are amazing!” Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza…I mean, the whole cast, it was just extraordinary. A wonderful, wonderful ensemble. There were no ego trips, and there was so much talent. A great writing team, and the producers were really behind it. It was a unique experience, and I loved every minute of it. To have a show like that comes once in a lifetime, maybe, and I feel like I had great fortune to be there for it.

PH: I know Danny has said that he’d love to see a “Taxi” reunion movie, as a feature film.

CL: Yes, that, again, is an idea that seems to float around, but for whatever reason, it just doesn’t get into gear. Maybe someday, maybe someday. Of course, we’d really miss Latka. That’s a sad thing. But…I don’t know, maybe it’ll come about somehow.

PH: Did you enjoy revisiting Reverend Jim for “Man in the Moon”?

CL: Oh, that was amazing! Because we did “Taxi” for Paramount, and of course it was closed down, but they recreated the set at Universal Studios, and it was déjà vu all over again. I mean, everything was there. The scrapes on the table, every detail was recreated, and all of us were there, a little bit older. It was a fabulous reunion. Of course, Jim Carrey did a superb portrayal, and…it was great. (Laughs) It was pretty cool.

PH: Well, I know you’re on a tight schedule, with a photo shoot you’ve got to head off to, but it’s been a pleasure talking to you.

CL: You, too!