Ah, August!
That can only mean one thing: time for my buddy and I to pack up our Starfleet uniforms and make our annual sojourn to Las Vegas for STLV (formerly know as the Official Star Trek convention). This year, we’re celebrating the 60th anniversary of the show, with actors and writers and anyone else even tangentially connected to the franchise over those decades slated to appear.
I’ve been a fan since my father introduced me to the series as a child; he was the one to bring me to the theater in 1979 to see the Enterprise proudly (and gracefully) sail out into the unknown anew. My love of the optimistic future all iterations of the show depict is a touchstone I find myself reaching for when this reality begins to get a little bit unnerving. Connecting with fellow fans annually has become another way for me to reset and recharge my own fervent belief that at some point the universe will self-correct into a timeline where people live the ideals behind I.D.I.C.
As of the date I’m writing this, the schedule for the convention hasn’t been published; oddly, the list of what’s happening always seems to be a closely guarded secret until the absolute last moment. There is a bit of melancholy undergirding this year, though, as it’s the first time in nearly a decade that no new Star Trek series or movie is in production. Our fear that the franchise might have suddenly sputtered to a stop is quite real; then again, for a series that was ignominiously cancelled after just three seasons back in the late 1960s, the fact it ultimately spawned twelve* additional series and thirteen* feature-length movies might give one faith the end is not, in fact, near. Maybe… just maybe… there will be an announcement of something new while we are in Las Vegas; I happened to be there when Patrick Steward announced his return as Captain Picard, so there is precedent.
Hope (and Star Trek) springs eternal.
* in case you were curious as to the series and movies, here they are, courtesy of Wikipedia and startrek.com.
| Series | Year | Seasons |
| The Original Series | 1966 | 3 |
| The Animated Series | 1973 | 2 |
| The Next Generation | 1987 | 7 |
| Deep Space Nine | 1993 | 7 |
| Voyager | 1995 | 7 |
| Enterprise | 2001 | 4 |
| Discovery | 2017 | 5 |
| Picard | 2020 | 3 |
| Lower Decks | 2020 | 5 |
| Prodigy | 2021 | 2 |
| Strange New Worlds | 2022 | 5 |
| Starfleet Academy | 2026 | 2 |
| Movie | Year |
| Star Trek: The Motion Picture | 1979 |
| Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | 1982 |
| Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | 1984 |
| Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | 1986 |
| Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | 1989 |
| Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | 1991 |
| Star Trek Generations | 1994 |
| Star Trek: First Contact | 1996 |
| Star Trek: Insurrection | 1998 |
| Star Trek: Nemesis | 2002 |
| Star Trek | 2009 |
| Star Trek Into Darkness | 2013 |
| Star Trek Beyond | 2016 |
Leave a Reply