To many, 2005 may be one of those years that is best viewed from the rearview mirror of 2006. The early days of the year still found several countries, and millions of people, recovering from the devastation of the late December Indian Ocean tsunami. Later in the year, Hurricane Katrina unleashed an attack so savage on parts of the southern states of America that the entire future of New Orleans still remains in question. Catastrophes, both natural and manmade, continued throughout 2005. Earthquakes in Pakistan, an ongoing war in Iraq and terror attacks in London all contributed to the bad news of 2005. Of course not all news was bad in 2005, but in many respects we can only hope that 2006 will be, shall we say, less bad.

In the world of Star Trek and its eponymous Web site, we began the year appealing to the charitable side in all of us to give to the American Red Cross to help lend a hand to those affected most by the tsunami. The rest of January was filled with our usual news tidbits from the world of Trek, including a photography exhibit by veteran director David Livingston, some cosmetic changes to STARTREK.COM, and a denial from Scott Bakula's publicist concerning alleged statements that the Enterprise star would be leaving the show. While this story didn't pan out, it was academic — Star Trek: Enterprise, after four seasons, would be finished for good come the end of the season: UPN was canceling the show. Following a near miss after Season 3, the final word came down on February 3 that Star Trek was finished. At least for now.

Throughout the year, the site continued to give our exclusive behind-the-scenes peeks in to the production of every single episode, including the finale, "These Are the Voyages..." STARTREK.COM was there every step of the way, including the final 1:00 a.m. shot of the last night's filming. It was a sad, poignant occasion, with heartfelt goodbyes from almost the entire main cast, including a gracious Scott Bakula who thanked everyone who worked on the show. (And if you were wondering what that last shot was, it's the one where Archer starts to walk out and give his momentous speech.)

Also on 2/3/05, the passing of long-time fan and STARTREK.COM supporter Ben Frier was announced. What made Ben unique was that he and his wife, Sylvia, got married online. The original story that day read: "In keeping with the online nature of their relationship, the wedding was held in the Starfleet Lounge with their cyber-friends from around the world in attendance.” A unique event, to be certain, one that STARTREK.COM can safely say "we were there, virtually."

By late February, a strong grassroots effort to "Save Enterprise" gained some real steam in terms of monetary support, as well as feet hitting the pavement to demonstrate in front of Paramount Studios and in cities around the world. But the realities of commercial TV proved insurmountable and supporters had to eventually throw in the towel and begin the mourning process for their favorite show. It simply wasn't coming back, in spite of their efforts.

In March, Pasadena was once again the setting for one of the biggest events on the convention calendar as Creation's Grand Slam XIII kicked off for another three days of Trek and sci-fi fun in Pasadena. The weekend featured a wide array of stars and behind-the-scenes folks, including Rene Auberjonois, Connor Trinneer, Marina Sirtis, William Shatner, Ronald D. Moore, Alfre Woodard, George Takei, Gates McFadden, Robert Picardo, John de Lancie, Jolene Blalock and long-time Paramount ambassador and presidential confidante A.C. Lyles. A highlight of the weekend was the appearance of Manny Coto and the Enterprise writing team, to tease upcoming shows and reveal plotlines that didn't make it into production.

In April, we announced the first of our podcasts, a new internet phenomenon that merged two great technologies — the ubiquitous iPod with the omnipresent Internet. Our initial podcast would coincide with the airing of the "In a Mirror, Darkly," a fourth-season stunner that also merged two things — the Original Series-era Constitution-class starship with the NX-01 crew. The making of this modern classic was documented with audio commentary by writer Mike Sussman that would appear both online, and later on the Season 4 DVDs.

In May, we announced that the Star Trek franchise had aired its 700th episode, putting the franchise in that rare space occupied by, um, pretty much no other franchise other than soap operas. (Yes, we do see Law & Order and CSI on the horizon!)

July saw a new beginning on STARTREK.COM, the premiere of David Reddick's "The Trek Life" comic strip featuring uber-fan Carl, along with his co-Trek-horts Kate and Steve. A huge hit, "The Trek Life" looks certain to run for years to come.

July also brought some sad news with the death of the beloved James ("Scotty") Doohan. A great character, a charming man, we can remain thankful that Doohan is forever immortalized in his classic role as the irascible Scot.

In August, Kate Mulgrew's acclaimed one-woman show based on the life of Katharine Hepburn, "Tea at Five," finally came to the West Coast. A welcome addition to the Pasadena Playhouse's commitment to excellence, Kate's performance had audiences cheering. To commemorate this event, we featured an exclusive interview with Kate here.

Also in August, the Hilton in Las Vegas hosted Creation's largest Trek convention ever. The four-day event outsold all previous events and was simply the place to be, if you call yourself a fan.

In September, with the absence of Enterprise on the air, Star Trek fans could get a partial fix on the new Threshold for CBS. With Brannon Braga as one of the key showrunners and writers, along with fellow writers Mike Sussman and Andre Bormanis — with Brent Spiner in a lead role — this seemed like the perfect fit. Unfortunately, it too faced cancellation in November after only a handful of episodes. This was a compelling show with some very good potential, so we were sad that it got squeezed out in a crowded sci-fi field.

October saw the announcement that the late James Doohan, or at least part of him, would be blasted into space (story) and later that same month, actor George Takei stepped out of the closet and announced he was gay in a magazine interview. Not that one's sexuality should be news in 2005, but inquiring minds still want to know! Takei reported on his Web site that, though he did receive a few negative e-mails, the response to his announcement from fans was overwhelmingly supportive.

More sad news arrived towards the end of the year as executive producer, writer and co-creator Michael Piller succumbed to cancer after a long battle. A very moving memorial was held by the family in Hollywood which featured many of Michael's contemporaries and past co-workers, co-writers and producers, and actors from his various shows. A creative mind, a very nice human being, Piller was admired by just about everyone who came in contact with him.

Lastly, one person who had a very good year, by his own admission, was Satan. Actually, that was William Shatner playing the Dark Prince on Comedy Central's "Last Laugh '05," a comedic send-up of the year. But Shatner did have a very good year. It began by his winning a Golden Globe for playing Denny Crane on Boston Legal ; he then continued his Emmy-winning ways with his second statuette for the Crane role. At that Emmy ceremony, he didn't forget his roots: In one of the musical performances of the show, Shatner once again quoted his immortal "Space, the final frontier" speech as famed mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade sang the original Alexander Courage theme.

But that wasn't all. Shatner was also behind a fake reality show for Spike TV called Invasion Iowa, that duped an entire small town into thinking a real sci-fi movie was being shot there. The mass deception turned out to be in good fun, and Shatner obviously had a blast hamming it up with the natives. But it wasn't all good news for Bill. You see, with pleasure oft times comes pain, and the latter proved to be inescapable. This time, Shatner's pain was not inflicted by some alien, or even legal hanky panky, but by a kidney stone. It passed, literally, and rumors started immediately that said stone would up for grabs on eBay. This, we have to point out, gave birth to one of our worst (or best) headlines: "Shatner Sharin' Stone"!

As we close the book on 2005, we look forward to 2006. We hope you will continue to join us as we move forward, perhaps even towards more new Star Trek!

Happy New Year from STARTREK.COM!