Excitement has been ramping up for the big Star Trek 50th anniversary for months, but now we find ourselves straight up giddy after seeing their latest announcement!
This year at San Diego Comic-Con go boldy and enjoy a multitude of celebratory anniversary events!
FEATURED PANEL PRESENTED BY CBS
“Star Trek: Celebrating 50 Years”
In the centerpiece of the weekend, Star Trek: Celebrating 50 Years will take over Hall H on Saturday, July 23 (2p.m. – 3p.m.), when the legendary William Shatner (Star Trek: The Original Series) and Star Trek alumni Scott Bakula (Star Trek: Enterprise), Michael Dorn (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) and Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation) take the stage to reflect on 50 years of Star Trek and its indelible mark on our world, as well as what’s to come as the franchise gets ready to boldly return to the small screen. The conversation will be moderated by Bryan Fuller, executive producer of the new Star Trek television series coming to CBS All Access, following its network premiere in January 2017.
50 Artists. 50 Years. Art Exhibit
Created to commemorate Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, 50 Artists. 50 Years. features Star Trek-inspired works by 50 artists from around the globe, including the last piece created by Leonard Nimoy, a renowned photographer in his own right. The exhibit will include original 2D and 3D pieces by the artists, who selected a variety of mediums — illustrations, photographs, sculptures, paintings, graphics and more — to express their love of the franchise and the inspiration gained from it.
Fans are invited to tour the art exhibit Thursday, July 21 through Saturday, July 23 from 11a.m. – 8p.m. and Sunday, July 24 from 10a.m. – 5p.m. The exhibit is free and does not require tickets. Special signings by participating artists will occur throughout the weekend. A full schedule will be posted on StarTrek.com.
Star Trek Panels and Merchandise
In addition to Saturday’s Hall H panel, fans will find much more Star Trek programming and exclusive merchandise in the convention center including:
Panels
TREK TALKS: SCIENCE, SMITHSONIAN AND STAR TREK
Friday, July 22, 6:30p.m. – 7:30p.m. (Room 5AB)
From the cutting-edge labs of the Smithsonian Institution to the front-lines of the digital economy, the promises made in Star Trek are coming true. This panel gives a glimpse at real Trek technology: the tricorder that may change medicine; laser weapon technology; and an actual tractor beam. And fans will get a preview of the original Starship Enterprise, fully restored after 50 years and the centerpiece of the National Air & Space Museum. This panel will be supplemented by exclusive preview clips from Smithsonian Channel’s two-hour special Building Star Trek, which will air later this year. Dr. Margaret Weitekamp, Curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, moderates a discussion with Dr. Sonny Kohli, Team Leader of Cloud DX, a finalist for the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE®; David Grier, Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Soft Matter Research at New York University, who is developing a real-life Tractor Beam; Dr. Rob Afzal, Lockheed Martin Senior Fellow Laser Sensor and Systems Harnessing the Power of Lasers; and Elizabeth Trojian, Executive Producer of Smithsonian Channel’s Building Star Trek.
TREK TALKS: STAR TREK & NASA BOLDLY GO
Saturday, July 23, 6:00p.m. – 7:00p.m. (Room 5AB)
Star Trek has influenced many of us to fall in love with the infinite possibilities of space exploration. The various television series and films have also made an indelible impact to NASA. NASA scientists, engineers and astronauts often cite Star Trek as inspiring them to pursue careers in their fields. (Nichelle Nichols even helped NASA recruit astronauts in the 1980s.) How does NASA’s vision of the future mimic the world of Star Trek and where does it differ? What technologies in the Star Trek world have paved the way for real technologies being developed by NASA? Robert Picardo, who portrayed The Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager, will moderate a panel which includes Astronaut Kjell Lindgren, NASA Johnson Space Center; Amber Staughn, Astrophysicist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Bobak Ferdowsi, Flight Systems Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Jay Falker, Early Stage Portfolio Executive, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters.
STAR TREK THE OFFICIAL STARSHIPS COLLECTION: DESIGNING AND FILMING STARSHIPS
Saturday, July 23, 3:00p.m. – 4:00p.m. (Room 28 D/E)
Star Trek concept designer Rick Sternbach and Visual Effects Producer Dan Curry discuss exactly what it takes to take a Starship from the page to the screen and how the process has changed since Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in 1987 with the introduction of CG. The panel will be moderated by Eaglemoss’s Ben Robinson and everyone who attends will receive a free model Starship from Eaglemoss’s collection.
STAR TREK: FIVE DECADES OF COMICS
Friday, July 22, 1:30p.m. – 2:30p.m. (Room 8)A celebration of all the 4-color Star Trek worlds, featuring a look at all past iterations and a chat with many who’ve chronicled the Enterprise crews’ comic-book adventures, including Len Wein, Scott Tipton, Mike Johnson, John Van Citters and JK Woodward. Moderated by Star Trek editor/supreme commander Sarah Gaydos.
Exclusive Merchandise
Star Trek fans will have an assortment of one-of-a-kind products to choose from including the debut of a Mega Blok mini-Enterprise in red, yellow and blue. The mini-Enterprises will be available at Star Trek licensee booths throughout the show. Locations and times of the giveaways will be revealed via Twitter (@StarTrek).
CBS will distribute free limited edition collector’s lapel pins featuring the new logo for the CBS All Access Star Trek series coming in 2017. The pins will be available while supplies last at the MAC activation located in Children’s Park across from the Convention Center, at the 50 Artists. 50 Years. art exhibit at the Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts gallery and at the QMX booth (Booth #4145).
Entertainment Earth (Booth #2343)
Entertainment Earth will offer a number of convention exclusives including Star Trek: The Original Series Amok Time Kirk vs. Spock Bobble Heads with sound, a Star Trek: The Original Series 24K Gold Plated Enterprise Monitor Mate and The Big Bang Theory characters in Star Trek: The Original Series uniforms. The 3¾-inch figures of Sheldon, Howard, Raj, Penny, Bernadette and Amy come equipped with their very own communicator, phaser and tricorder accessories. Leonard comes in the Captain uniform. The announcement of their final exclusive (with regard to the Bif Bang Pow! Pin Mate wooden figure line) will be forthcoming.
These are just a few that we’ve hand-selected, but you can check out the entire list of events at StarTrek.com.
Source & images: StarTrek.com
