Keeping in line with its venerable predecessors, the fifth Star Trek incarnation has earned two spots among the 2002 nominees for the 50th annual Hugo Awards.

The second-season Enterprise episodes "Carbon Creek" and "A Night in Sickbay" are competing against each other in the category "Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form."

The other contenders in that group are all Joss Whedon skeins — Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly.

Also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award, the Hugo is given annually by the World Science Fiction Society, and will be presented this year in Toronto, Ontario, on Saturday, August 30, during Torcon 3, the 61st World Science Fiction Convention. The award is nicknamed after Hugo Gernsback, who is considered "the father of magazine science fiction." This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Hugo Awards presentation in 1953.

Star Trek has a long history with the Hugos, dating back to when "The Menagerie" and "The City on the Edge of Forever" won back-to-back awards for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1967 and 1968. In '68 a special award was also bestowed upon series creator Gene Roddenberry.

Among numerous nominations by Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, other winners have been "The Inner Light" in 1993 and "All Good Things..." in 1995.

Last year the movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" won for Best Dramatic Presentation. This year, however, that category has been split in two, "Short Form" and "Long Form," so that movies and TV shows won't be competing against each other.

Discuss the Hugo nominations at the Star Trek message boards!