Your first look at new ‘Trek’ ship

The upcoming (July 14) issue of TV Guide features an exclusive interview with “Star Trek” whiz Rick Berman – talking about the new “Star Trek” prequel series airing on UPN this fall with star Scott Bakula as Capt. Jonathan Archer.

“The terrific thing about this for longtime fans is that they’ll get to see the development of all the technological gadgetry and capabilities that have become part of the Trek mythos,” says Berman.

“They’ll see them in their infant, trial-and-error stages, before they end up being what we know them to be.”

The issue will also feature an exclusive poster featuring a huge image of the new Enterprise ship.

‘X’ marks spot for big cash prize

The winner of Fox’s new reality show, “Murder in Small Town X” will, er, make a killing.

Not only will the winner snag a $250,000 paycheck, but he/she will win a brand-spanking-new Jeep Liberty from DaimlerChryster. The Liberty, which hasn’t hit the mainstream market yet, will be featured in “Murder” as one of the police vehicles driven around the town – which is located somewhere in Maine.

In the series, which kicks off July 24 (8:30-10 p.m./Ch. 5), 10 players (or “investigators”) will be dropped into a small town, Sunrise, to investigate a murder. They will then meet the “townspeople,” who are really actors – one of whom is the killer. The series runs for eight weeks.

Network news: Zaks turns to ‘Kristin’

Veteran Broadway director Jerry Zaks will make his TV directorial debut on Tuesday’s episode of NBC’s “Kristin” (8:30 p.m./Ch. 4).

“Kristin” stars Tony-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth, who Zaks directed on Broadway in 1999 in “Epic Proportions” (she played the lead role, Louise).

In Tuesday’s episode, “The Rival,” Tommy (Jon Tenney) warns Kristin (Chenoweth) to stay away from his ex-business associate (played by Jason Beghe) – but Kristin, bent on raising funds for a new monkey house at the zoo, has other ideas.

This just in . . .

Bang for the buck: Ch. 4’s live coverage of Wednesday’s “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks” beat all local competition combined (9-10 p.m.) with a 17.8 rating (1.2 million households).

Ch. 55 has won a N.Y. State Broadcasters award for Best Locally Originated Newscast for its “Election 2000 Coverage.”

Robert DeNiro will visit Wednesday’s “WB11 Morning News” (6-8 a.m./Ch. 11).

Sources say Jimmy Folise (Third Millennium Entertainment) is pitching a TV-music series to Aaron Spelling.

“The Starr Report” can be reached at mstarr@nypost.com.