He thought he was only coming to the Paramount lot to discuss special features on an upcoming DVD, but when he stepped into the screening facility he was greeted by a roomful of family and friends who gathered today at the studio to pay tribute to the man who invented the Starship Enterprise.

Matt Jefferies — the art director on the Original Series who worked with Gene Roddenberry to create the saucer-and-nacelle starship design that is still in use today — was the guest of honor at an informal gathering this afternoon to view a video piece about him, which is scheduled to be included on a future DVD release of "Star Trek Generations."

There was no formal presentation, just a chance to meet and greet a man who helped to literally define Star Trek. Among those attending were J.G. Hertzler, most famous as the actor behind "Martok" and other Trek characters, but who himself has produced DVD extras for the recent "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" release and will be doing more for "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." Old friend Harold Michelson, production designer on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was there, along with other Trek veterans such as senior illustrator Doug Drexler, modelmaker Greg Jein, scenic artists Anthony Frederickson and Alan Kobayashi, Enterprise producers Dawn Velazquez and Stephen Welke, and a host of other notable names from the Trek community. Jefferies' younger brother John, a designer himself, was also on hand among other family members. Penny Juday, art department coordinator on the last four Trek movies, organized the affair, and she spoke briefly before the viewing and emotionally announced that Jefferies has recovered from recent health problems. That was evident today, as he was quite energetic, albeit slightly embarrassed by the attention.

In case you haven't made the connection before, Matt Jefferies is the one whom the ubiquitous "Jefferies Tube" is named after. A recent mention in the Enterprise episode "First Flight" of a "Captain Jefferies," the head of an engineering team designing early warp engines, was also a tribute to venerable designer.

The video tribute was produced by Beck-Ola, the company responsible for the majority of bonus features on the Star Trek DVDs.

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