Published: May 07, 2009 07:51 pm      

New ‘Star Trek’ film could beam up a whole new generation of fans

BLUEFIELD — Captain’s log, star date 20-09. On Sept. 8, 1966, Jerry Conner watched the first episode of “Star Trek,” the television series, from behind the couch of his family’s home in Switchback.

“That was the episode with the salt vampire,” Conner said of “Star Trek” Episode 1, an episode titled “The Man Trap.” “I was 7 at the time, and that was pretty scary stuff for a 7-year-old.”

After seeing the historic first episode, Conner was hooked. He enjoyed the series so much that he pursued a career that would lead him into greater personal understanding of the gadgetry that only existed in the world of science fiction 42-plus years ago, but quickly evolved into the everyday reality of modern life around the world.

“Why do you think cell phones flip open from the middle?” Conner said. “It’s because the communicators on “Star Trek” opened like that. Cell phones and other modern devices resemble communicators used on “Star Trek” because they appeal to generations that grew up watching “Star Trek.”

When scientists developed a handheld instrument that could analyze soils in alien environments, they started calling it a tricoder because, as Conner pointed out, the inventors knew that’s what people would call it that anyway. “They went to Paramount and licensed the name,” Conner said of the device.

Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy on “Star Trek” used a tricoder for a myriad of purposes, but Purdue University researchers didn’t combine a miniature mass spectrometer with desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) until 2007 — forty-one years after the Starship Enterprise started traveling where no man or woman had gone before.

“I don’t think “Star Trek” has reached the saturation point,” Conner said. Conner is commodore of the USS Yeager named for Chuck Yeager, the famous pilot from West Virginia said. The USS Yeager is the oldest continuously operating chapter of the international Star Trek Fan Association Starfleet in the state of West Virginia. Conner has been a member for 20 years.

“There have been 11 ‘Dr. Whos,’” he said. “Look at all the different people who have played the role of James Bond and people still go to see Bond movies. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are both in their mid-70s, but they will be making appearances in the new movie. It’s been 7 years since a new “Star Trek” movie came out — ‘Nemesis’ — and with a pretty good story line, this movie should do well.”

Conner said when he saw the new USS Enterprise, it reminded him of the introduction of the PT Cruisers a few years ago. “They took an old, classic design and modernized it,” he said. “From what I understand, this movie is like the old “Star Trek” with a lot of new technology. You can do more with special effects on a home PC now than the producers of “Star Trek” did from 1966 to 1969, but some of the hokie references of the old show make it special to people.”

Conner predicted that the new movie will attract the interest of a new audience. “This is going to be “Star Trek” for the MTV generation,” he said. He also predicted that the story will continue to attract fans into the future. “It will endure,” Conner said.

“Star Trek” opened in Bluefield at Carmike Cinemas 8 at the Mercer Mall for two shows Thursday night, but today is the national release date.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com