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50 years of Star Trek, Inspiration, and Hope

 

In honor of the Star Trek 50th Anniversary, there were many events at Comic-Con for Trekkies to enjoy. The Saturday afternoon panel brought together a representative of the various Star Trek series that have aired since September of 1966. Hosted by Bryan Fuller, the panel welcomed Scott Bakula from Star Trek: Enterprise, Jeri Ryan from Star Trek: Voyager, Michael Dorn who played Worf on both Star Trek: the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, Brent Spiner from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and last – but most definitely not least – William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk.

And the theme was acceptance. At one point, we were asked to all hold hands throughout the auditorium and promise to be the future Gene Roddenberry imagined. The future where every nationality comes together as one. The future where mankind supports each other, but also every species it encounters. It is a story of hope.

“Science fiction inspires through optimism,” Scott Bakula summarized. The decades-long franchise has not only inspired acceptance, but it has also encouraged technology and science. William Shatner explained that Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel in space, was inspired to work for NASA after growing up watching Uhura on the original Star Trek series.

In January, a new series will continue to carry the optimistic message forward. Star Trek: Discovery will air January 2017 to a new legion of fans.

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