It seems like all the geekiest blogs buzz with excitement whenever there's news about the new Star Trek movie. Yes, that includes us. The film sounds cool and all, but I think the biggest reaction I have had is when I silently nodded with approval upon hearing that Heroes' Zachary Quinto would be playing Spock. That is, until now.

Variety is reporting that Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star Simon Pegg is going to play Scotty in the upcoming feature. Simon Pegg! Insert obligatory "beam him up" joke here.

I don't know how long these promos have been running on Comedy Central, but during South Park, I just saw a bug promoting the television premiere of Shaun of the Dead (Saturday at 9 PM EST!). I was so giddy, I choked on air. Although I've seen it a million an one times, I am very excited that it's coming to American cable. Shaun is one of those films that I constantly try to get people to see, so it's nice that some fresh meat will watch it without me having to strap them to a chair and do various Clockwork Orange-y things to them.

Also, I am quite interested in seeing how much they edit from the film. After all, it is a rather gory movie... and the language is quite coarse (heh, Ed's not going to have any lines in the television version, is he?).

The latest edition of The Guardian features some fantastic interviews and articles about some of today's hottest British comedians. They're all great reads, but the photos of the comics re-enacting various moments in pop culture are what really reeled me in. My favorites include Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant (from The Office) as McCartney and Lennon, the boys from Green Wing as Queen, and Nick Frost and Simon Pegg (from Spaced and Shaun of the Dead) as Paul Gascoigne and Vinnie Jones. Hilarious.

Read the text and then check out the great pics by Karl J. Kaul.

BBC America will start airing one of my all-time favorite shows, Spaced, starting June 23. Spaced is an absolutely hilarious show, loaded with clever references to various aspects of stoner/pop/geek culture, from Tekken 2 to zombie flicks to Star Wars. It's from the makers of Shaun of the Dead, so expect that sort of material (but with less gore and a lot more mimed gun fights). Plus, the show features a rather cool-looking Mark Heap (Dr. Alan Statham from Green Wing) as a miserable, young painter. The now-defunct Trio channel aired the show to coincide with the American release of Shaun of the Dead back in 2004, but I haven't seen Spaced on TV since then. Now that it's on BBCA, maybe my American friends will know what I'm quoting all the time.

BBC America also has Peepshow coming June 30 (I've heard a lot of good things). Apparently, Peepshow and Spaced will be a part of BBC America's late-night adult comedy line-up, "The Underground". Well, I would hardly consider Spaced a candidate for this, but... okay.