ALL SCI-FI

[bulldogtrekker]

It's a stellar weekend for Star Trek fans.

By Andrea Morabito, New York Post



Since late June, visitors to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum who walk through the Milestones of Flight hall have been able to see a new object on permanent display. Imgur


Right next to the Apollo Lunar Module, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis monoplane and the Mercury capsule from John Glenn's first orbital spaceflight is something from another world: A model of the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek actors William Shatner and Walter Koenig will be special guests at Star Trek: Mission New York this weekend. (See Hailing all Trekkies, below.)

Trekkies know it as the homebase of Star Trek, and the restoration of the original 11-ft, 250-lb. prop is one of the projects featured on the two-hour Smithsonian Channel special Building Star Trek (premiering Sunday at 8 p.m.).



Its placement there really shows that as far as the Smithsonian's concerned, Star Trek really matters. Star Trek is at the same level as the actual, real-world things, says executive producer Tim Evans.

Plenty of networks are rolling out special programming timed to the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek TV series (see sidebar), but Smithsonian Channel's focus, in addition to the Enterprise and a set piece exhibit at Seattle's EMP Museum, are the engineers and scientists making the technology from the science fiction show like warp drives, cloaking devices, phasers and universal translators a reality today.

We found we had an entire generation or two of scientists driven by what they saw on the air in the 60s, he says. ....



The special interviews screenwriters from the original series, who shed light on the inspiration for some of the technology they wrote (mainly as plot devices to work around a limited budget). Actress Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura, talks about the show's controversial (for the time) depiction of an African-American female assuming a leadership role on the Starship Enterprise, as well as her historic smooch with Captain Kirk (William Shatner) the first and perhaps most famous interracial kiss on TV.

For the first time she told the public that By the way, my grandparents were an interracial couple. She'd never said that before, Evans says. It was such a delight to be able to get that story from her and to get her take on it.

From Pike's peak to Kirk




Digital network MeTV will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek on Sept. 10 by airing the shows original episode, The Man Trap, at 9 p.m. followed at 10 p.m. by the show's pilot episode, The Cage, in which Jeffrey Hunter played Capt. Christopher Pike (who later morphed into Capt. James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner).




Hailing all Trekkies

To celebrate the original Star Treks 50th anniversary, the Star Trek: Mission New York convention will dock at the Jacobs Javits Center Friday through Sunday. Fans can attend question-and-answer sessions with original series stars William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk) and Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), dozens of panels, a video gaming area and more than 200 paid autograph sessions with franchise stars including Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Kate Mulgrew and Michael Dorn.


FRIDAY

Kate Mulgrew and Michael Dorn are scheduled to attend Star Trek: Mission New York at the Jacob Javits Center.

1:30 p.m. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine cast reunion With Rene Auberjonois (Odo), Michael Dorn (Lt. Commander Worf), Terry Farrell (Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax), Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko), Armin Shimerman (Quark) and Nana Visitor (Major Kira Nerys)

5 p.m. Star Trek: Enterprise cast reunion Featuring John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox), Dominic Keating (Lt. Malcolm Reed), Anthony Montgomery (Ensign Travis Mayweather) and Connor Trinneer (Commander Charles Trip Tucker III)

SATURDAY

12:30 p.m. Star Trek: The Next Generation cast reunion With LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher) and Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi)

2:45 p.m. Screening of For the Love of Spock Adam Nimoy' new documentary about his father

3:30 p.m. Q&A with Nicholas Meyer and Kirsten Beyer Writers/producers of CBS upcoming series Star Trek: Discovery
SUNDAY

Noon Star Trek: Voyager cast reunion With Roxann Dawson (Lt. B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris), Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor) and executive producer Brannon Braga (who also produced Star Trek: Enterprise)

3 p.m. From Russia with Love: A Chat with Walter Koenig

4 p.m. Tales from the Captain's Chair: A Conversation with William Shatner

[Bud Brewster]

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Magnificent post, Bulldogtrekker! Thanks you.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)