On Saturday, San Diego Comic-Con held a celebration for Star Trek in Hall H as the iconic sci-fi series — and the franchise it begat — turns 60 this year.
A large panel did a commendable job representing many Star Trek series across many eras, including Michael Dorn (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Picard), Robert Picardo (Voyager, Prodigy, Starfleet Academy), Dominic Keeting (Enterprise), Cirroc Lofton (Deep Space Nine), Doug Jones (Discovery), Michelle Hurd (Picard), Jerry O’Connell (Lower Decks), Christina Chong (Strange New Worlds), and Karim Diané (Starfleet Academy). And last but certainly not least was the legendary George Takei, representing the original Star Trek series.
It’s a bit of an odd time for the Star Trek, with some already-produced seasons of completed series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy left to air. Beyond that, nothing has been announced on the TV front. A new Trek film is in development from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, but obviously, plenty of movie attempts have been made in the past decades that didn’t come to fruition. Still, when the very well-edited opening montage — filled with clips from Star Trek series and films from the past 60 years — concluded with the voiceover “The journey will never be over,” you knew that would certainly turn out to be true, whatever the next step turns out to be.
Asked by moderator Scott Mantz about seeing the legacy of Star Trek endure so long, Takei spoke about how honored he felt to be part of what’s turned into such a long legacy that resulted from a three-season show that struggled to stay on the air at the time, noting the multi-generational younger actors surrounding him on the stage.
Diané, the most recent actor on the panel to join Trek, said he very quickly was overwhelmed by the passion and dedication of the fanbase, recounting a fan who showed him a tattoo he’d gotten of his character, Jay-Den Kraag, on his leg.
“Seeing my face on a grown man’s thigh… that’s permanent!” Diané said.
Michael Dorn, who was part of the first risky attempt to continue Star Trek with a new cast beyond the original series, said that the long term impact of The Next Generation and everything since “was a shock to all of us… That we still are viable and they’re making more shows about this one thing.”
All the actors who joined Trek after those first two series said they felt the impact of it, with the ever-busy Doug Jones — known for playing characters in elaborate makeup in projects like Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth — saying he had always lamented not getting to do so a Star Trek series, only for the franchise to return to TV after a long break with Star Trek: Discovery, where he had a major role as Saru.
Jerry O’Connell recounted how much it meant to him when he immediately got a text from his Stand By Me co-star Wil Wheaton, after it was announced he’d been cast in the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks. Wheaton, of course, played Wesley Crusher on The Next Generation, and O’Connell recalled the text simply saying, “Welcome to Starfleet, Commander.”
Many of the panelists lauded Star Trek and its creator, Gene Roddenberry, for how progressive and ahead of its time the franchise was from the start in 1966, with its groundbreaking depiction of a bridge crew who were made up of many difference races and backgrounds, giving viewers an optimistic look at the future. Michelle Hurd said it has a huge impact on her and her sisters to see the late Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, playing the kind of role a Black woman rarely had at that time. Hurd got very emotional, saying how much it meant to her to be sitting on the panel right next to Takei, someone who was also a part of that iconic first crew.
As the panel wrapped up, Takei was asked which part of Roddenberry’s vision of Star Trek is the most important to today as far as lessons that could be learned. Takei said what stood out for him the most was the Vulcan philosophical belief in the concept of IDIC: infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
Takei explained how he felt that as important as it was for Star Trek to represent people who physically look different from one another, he also felt there was importance and strength in acknowledging and learning from the diverse backgrounds as well.
“It’s the history. It’s what differences we bring other than the visual,” Takei said. “We have a whole history that has shaped our vantage point on life and how we see life. And it’s recognizing that [history] among all of us, coming together, and realizing that our strength is in our working together. We have various thoughts that are exchanged, we have maybe different reactions to what is said, but it’s our recognition of that difference and the courage and the boldness to think about that difference and learn from it. I think that’s what the strength of Star Trek is: infinite diversity in different combinations… And then to live long and prosper.”
Photo credit: Chris Delmas / AFP via Getty Images
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