The other night when flicking through channels on my TV I came across accidentally on a show called Trek Nation that was aired on the Science Channel or Sci (the channels logo) Channel. It is one of those cable/satellite channels that many may not know about but is one of those like the History channel that is fun to watch when your in one of those cerebral moods .
Trek Nation was not one of those run of the mill Star Trek documentaries. Rather it was a biography on Gene Roddenberry’s life with Star Trek as seen through the eyes of Genes son Rod. Which in itself would be interesting but the fact that he admitted that he had no interest in Star Trek as a youth and really had a disconnect with his father growing up like most children and teens do delightfully turned this filmed documentary into a discovery of who his father was and what Star Trek actually meant to Gene and fans alike. It really was a refreshing look on the man many called the the The Great Bird of the Galaxy and his creation . The documentary was akin to watching a child discover something amazing and enjoying what he was discovering.
There were many treats in it like interviews with George Lucas, J.J. Abrams, Seth MacFarlane , Star Trek cast members, crew , writers and of course the fans themselves who made Star Trek a nation to be reckoned with in the first place. Clips from the original series and other shows that rarely make the light of day. And it was the intimacy of it that gave it a life that you rarely see.
Some of my favorite clips were those was of Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) speaking on how she almost quit Star Trek after one season and Dr King who was a Trekie himself persuaded here not to the quit the show that she was a symbol of hope and pride for many. Other clips was Stan the man Lee speaking on the effect Star Trek had on a culture and the George Lucas with clips of Gene Roddenberry mixed in both talking about the Star Trek / Star Wars differences. There is so so so much more that what I have touched on just barely scrapes the surface of this TV version of Trek Nation.
If you do not get the Sci Channel Youtube has a directors log with interviews that were included in the film which features Nichelle Nicholes , Stan Lee , Michael Piller, fans and more. I will post them in in the video section of Scifiology also to make it an easy to view along with the link below to the Youtube webpage that has Trek Nation.
If you are a Trekie and have the Sci Channel watch it. It is a treat . If you don’t most likely this will be a DVD pretty soon.
Trek Nation Official Webpage
Trek Nation on Youtube
Showtimes (pt/et)
Dec 2, 12am/3am
Dec 3, 6pm/9pm
Dec 4, 9pm/12am
Dec 5, 1am/4am
Trek Nation Trailer
DL 1: “Nichelle “Uhura” Nichols” – Trek Nation Director’s Log: EXCLUSIVE