Where no one has gone before

Right now, I am proud to be a Trekkie, thanks to the new Star Trek movie. I remember in middle school, high school, college, I'd be so hesitant to admit that I loved Star Trek, that it really was the only show I watched in my youth. People would look at me with eyebrows raised, thinking, Really? That has to be the geekiest show ever invented! Who wants to hear about warp drive, the starboard necel, star clusters, Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans? Who wants to be lectured about the bigger issues in life? Why on EARTH would you watch that? So, I stopped admitting I watched it, until I found an equally dorky sorority sister at the University of Oregon. We confided that we both loved Star Trek: The Next Generation. Deborah is the same woman I went to see the movie with on Sunday.

I've been struggling to write a review, or even put into words what this movie meant to me. It made me both very happy, and very sad. Even thinking about it now makes me feel a little choked up. The actors chosen to represent the original crew were spot on, but I missed William Shatner, DeForest Kelly, James Doohan, George Takai. Nobody can ever replace them. Two of these actors are dead, and I can't tell you how awesome it was to have Leonard Nimoy in the movie. Especially when he told Kirk, "I am and always will be....your friend." That line brought tears to my eyes, and there were several other lines or innuendos that only true Trekkies got. I could hear pockets of laughter throughout Cinerama. I thought the man who played McCoy was absolutely incredible.

Star Trek means so much to so many people, but this movie is truly the "Next Generation." Friends of mine who never dreamed of watching Star Trek are telling me things like this:

"That looks so good! I really want to see it."

"Wow, those are great looking actors, and the special effects look amazing. I'm seeing it this week."

This has caught me totally by surprise, and I'm so thrilled and proud that something I've loved for so long is reaching new groups of people. Sure, the movie to me looked like "Star Trek on Crack." I've never seen such stunning special effects in a Star Trek movie, and it's truly out of this world. I'm going back to the theater very soon to see this with David, who is a HUGE fan of the Original Series. I want to know how many innuendos he picks up on, what he thinks of the new actors.

I feel a little bit nostalgic that I will never see the Original Crew, or the Next Generation Crew, share the stage again in a Star Trek movie. I will never see Data, or Warf, or Captain Picard. I hope that William Shatner is invited to be in the next movie; I'll always have a special place in my heart for the very first Kirk. But I am glad to have this new crew, this new group of actors, to bring Star Trek alive again. I can't wait for the next movie.....after I see this one 5 more times in the theater.

Star Trek According to Wil Wheaton

I guess he thought it was good. If Wesley Crusher thinks Star Trek rocks, then it ROCKS by golly! I just can't wait.

Check out his blog post here: http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/

Wheaton - He's just a Geek

My stomach was doing flip flops as I walked toward the Hyatt in downtown Seattle this morning, on my way to interview the famous Wil Wheaton. My mind couldn't stop arguing with itself.

"You are going to meet the Wesley Crusher."

"It's no big deal. He's just a person. A nice guy. A Geek."

"No, he's been to outer space. He's explored strange new world. His role was to seek out new life and new civilizations. He's been in the same room with Captain Picard."

"He's an author. A chilled out guy. He has facial hair for God's sakes. There's no way this is Wesley Crusher."

I waited for him to come out into the lobby, thinking everyone who walked by was him. Would I recognize him with all that stubble? What if I accidentally called him Wesley? Then I saw him, and my world stood still, and I was thrust into the parallel universe of stardom. Just kidding. I saw him, and he was normal. He's only a little taller than me, skinny, with a friendly smile. A geek. Just the type of person to make me feel at ease, to tell my Star Trek dork stories. I could still see a hint of Wesley Crusher behind his beard - it was in his eyes, and his speech mannerisms. I just couldn't believe he looked OLDER. He was supposed to stay the same. But that would be disturbing, wouldn't it? I don't want to have a crush on a 17 year old anymore.

We hung out at the Starbucks Hyatt for about 40 minutes, and every minute he seemed more real to me. We talked about coffee, tea, life in Los Angeles, that his wife is from Portland. I learned that he loves the Clover Press Ethiopian Blend, and drinks it black. I saw that he wears Converse shoes. We spouted off about sci fi, "the geek subculture", Star Trek, and his love of writing books. He told me when others picture The Next Generation, they can visualize the ship, but he remembers the set, what happened that day, his interactions with the other actors.

We talked about the new Star Trek movie due out in May, and how he thinks it's going to rock, not be a watered down version like the three new Star Wars movies. He told me the writers get it, the directors get it, the actors get it. Star Trek is coming back!

It was a wonderful experience, interviewing one of my favorite actors. I love that he's a geek, down to earth, outspoken. I wish I could be friends with him and his wife, and I'll always remember my 40 minutes with Wesley Crusher.

To listen to the entire interview, go to the KOMO website at this address:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/42448032.html

Make it So!

I have an interview tomorrow, with the one and only Wil Wheaton, aka, "Wesley Crusher" from Star Trek the Next Generation.

I think I almost had a heart attack yesterday when he wrote to my work email directly, and actually used my name! I wasn't going through a PR person, or any complex beaurocrocy. Instead, we emailed for a little bit and decided to meet at the Starbucks inside the Hyatt. I can already see his sense of humor, he wrote "We'll meet in the lobby, then go to the Starbucks in the hotel, and I'm sure there are 7 more inside it." He'll be in town for the Emerald City Comicon, but I plan to pick his brain about Star Trek, and what he's been doing since his brief foray with fame. I know he won't look at all like the fresh-faced 17-year old Wesley Crusher anymore, he's now 36, married with children, and an accomplished author and blogger.

It's funny, I've held him on a pedestal since I was 10 or 11 years old, when I so desperately wanted to act on the show with him. I even wrote into the Star Trek producers, and they wrote me back, saying I had to be part of the Screen Actors Guild. My dreams of meeting "Wesley Crusher" were tarnished.

Now, I'm going to have my chance to pick his brain, and the more I write him emails, the more he seems more "human", and less "magical." Tomorrow, I'm going to ask him for a picture, I know it will make everyone smile who knew me when I was 11 years old, with a childhood crush.