Comic-Con International in San Diego is one of the largest gatherings of genre fans and professionals anywhere during the year, and Star Trek is always represented to some extent. However, this year Trek has a much more prominent presence at the event, in recognition of the franchise's 40th anniversary.

Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Brannon Braga, Mike Sussman, Robert Blackman, Eugene W. Roddenberry Jr., quite a number of Star Trek authors, and other dignitaries will be on hand to celebrate Gene Roddenberry's vision and discuss its impact on our popular culture.

The following is a preview of the many panels and presentations devoted specifically to Star Trek topics, plus others that involve Trek personalities past and future. Comic-Con takes place next Thursday through Sunday — July 20-23 — at the San Diego Convention Center, and you can register online at www.comic-con.org.

Please note that all scheduling information is subject to change!

Walter Koenig is one of the special guests at the convention, in attendance specifically to commemorate the Star Trek anniversary. He will be spotlighted Sunday morning from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Room 6B, one of the larger halls on the upper level. According to the Comic-Con schedule, Koenig "shares his memories and tells what's up next for this talented writer/actor."

Nichelle Nichols will be present in the Exhibit Hall on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles booth. She will be there to sign autographs in promotion of new "Mirror, Mirror" action figures, including the alternate-universe Uhura. Diamond Select will also host Barbara Luna, who played "Marlena Moreau" in that episode, on Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Diamond Select booth will be prominently positioned in the center of the hall very near the front. They are sponsoring a "scavenger hunt" whereby each "Mirror" figure — Uhura, McCoy, Sulu and Chekov — is available from different exhibitors such as Entertainment Earth, and when you buy all four and come back to Diamond Select, you will get a free Moreau.

(Please note that there will be many Star Trek-related products featured on the Exhibitor's floor, and you never know what celebrities might show up to make an endorsement and/or sign autographs.)

A number of panels are scheduled to discuss various Star Trek-related topics. One we'd really like you to attend is taking place Friday morning from 11:00-12:30, called "Star Trek: Year 41 and Counting." Official representatives from throughout the Star Trek universe will share what's going on in a franchise that is still "alive and well and boldly going into the future at warp speed." Michael and Denise Okuda, prominent Trek authors and former art department personnel, will be there to talk about the Christie's auction (related story). From CBS Consumer Products, Paula Block (an author herself) and John Van Citters will discuss future possibilities for the franchise and offer sneak peeks of new products, and STARTREK.COM's own Sandy Stone will talk about what's coming up on this website. TOKYOPOP's Luis Reyes will unveil the first ever Star Trek manga, and Pocket Books editors Marco Palmieri and Margaret Clark will discuss the future of Trek publications. Trek novelist Andy Mangels ("Section 31: Rogue," etc.) will moderate. This will be in Room 6CDEF (four halls in one) on the upper level.

Backing up a day, on Thursday at 3:00, the son of Star Trek's creator, Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, will take part in a discussion of "Star Trek as Cultural Phenomenon," along with David Brin, author ("TNG: Forgiveness") and futurist. "Whether dealing with issues of war, race, superpower conflict, cowboy diplomacy, utopian hopes, or apocalyptic fears, the universe [Gene] Roddenberry built reflected the idealism and anxieties of its decade," states the program. "What does the popularity of Star Trek throughout its various incarnations say about the persistence of certain American values? Does ST continue to mirror the enduring dreams and fears of our culture?" This will take place in Room 24A (upper level).

Rod Roddenberry will speak again Saturday evening at 6:00, this time about his work-in-progress documentary "Trek Nation," and other projects he's involved with. That'll be in Room 1B (upper level).

Former Trek writer/producers Brannon Braga, René Echevarria and Bryan Fuller will take part in a panel called "TV Guide Presents: 2006 and Beyond," which will look at supernatural/fantasy/sci-fi TV shows "and how they are paving the way for television series of the future." That will be on Saturday at 3:30 in Room 20. (Actors Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jorge Garcia will be there, along with other distinguished guests.)

Two panels devoted to Star Trek in book form will take place back-to-back Sunday afternoon in Room 1B. Mike Sussman, script writer for Voyager and Enterprise, will be the special guest at "Star Trek Books: Daring to Explore" at 12:30. Pocket Books editors Margaret Clark and Marco Palmieri will host authors Jeff Ayers, Kirsten Beyer, David R. George III, Andy Mangels, Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore in a discussion of just how vast the universe of Star Trek fiction is, and where they'll dare to venture next.

At 1:30 in the same room, Smart Pop Books will celebrate Star Trek's influence on society and preview their new book Boarding the Enterprise, a non-fiction title co-edited by David Gerrold with reminisces from D.C. Fontana. Contributor Eric Greene and editor-in-chief Glenn Yeffeth discuss "how Trek has shaped our image of television and continues to mold our view of the real world."

A recurring event at Comic-Con is the "Klingon Lifestyle Presentation," and this year it'll be extra special for the 40th. Taking place Friday night at 7:00 in Room 6A, "the crew of the IKV Stranglehold return with their latest mission, and this time it may turn to disaster for the entire crew as their loyalties are tested, causing some to mutiny."

Sunday morning at 10:30 in Room 2, David R. George III, Andy Mangels and Terry Erdmann ("DS9 Companion") will be on a panel titled "Media Tie-In Writers: United and Licensed to Thrill!" The discussion will be how some of fiction's best-selling novels are tie-ins with properties ranging from Star Trek and "Star Wars" to Buffy, CSI and Monk.

On Thursday at 4:30 in Room 2, Robert Blackman — costumer designer on every latter-day Trek — will join his peers from other TV shows in a special panel sponsored by the Costume Designers Guild. It's billed as "a rare opportunity to hear from costume designers and see sketches, fabrics, costumes and film clips from some the most influential productions of the last five years."

In the Autograph Area (the upstairs pavilion), Trek celebrities not otherwise on the schedule but who will be signing include Denise Crosby ("Tasha Yar"), Gary Graham ("Soval," etc.), Bobby Clark ("Gorn" stuntman), James Horan ("Future Guy") and William Powell-Blair (from "Emissary"). As noted before, you inevitably find other familiar faces showing up unannounced, so keep your eyes peeled!

Also keep an eye out for the traveling exhibit of Star Trek items that are part of the big Christie's auction (related story). The Christie's booth is located near the center-front of the Exhibit Hall, against the wall (according to the floor map, across from the large Hasbro exhibit).

UPDATE: G4 TV, the network that airs Star Trek 2.0 and TNG, just announced that it will broadcast live from Comic-Con on Friday, July 21, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. local time (8:00-10:00 p.m. ET), for a two-hour special with Attack of the Show hosts Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn. In addition, the network will air two one-hour specials covering the convention, on Monday, July 24, and Tuesday, July 25, both at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT.

Page 2: Other events featuring Trek personalities

Page 3: Chronological listing of events