‘Star Trek’ marks anniversary with 24-hour virtual celebration

CBS All Access is beaming fans into the anniversary of the “Star Trek” franchise. On Tuesday, September 8, the streaming network will host a 24-hour virtual celebration to mark the 54th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” series premiere on Sept. 8, 1966. The virtual event will feature panel discussions with actors past and present, …

CBS All Access is beaming fans into the anniversary of the “Star Trek” franchise.

On Tuesday, September 8, the streaming network will host a 24-hour virtual celebration to mark the 54th anniversary of the original “Star Trek” series premiere on Sept. 8, 1966. The virtual event will feature panel discussions with actors past and present, a “curated” selection of franchise-wide episodes for US-based fans, “exclusive news” about the ever-expanding federation of “Trek” shows on CBS All Access, new emojis of fan-fave characters and a trivia quiz in conjunction with Geeks Who Drink on Twitch.

The event will kick off at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday with a 12-hour marathon of episodes from the franchise, followed by a 3½-hour series of free panels starting at 3 p.m. Those discussions — hosted by Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher in “The Next Generation,” and Michaela “Mica” Burton, daughter of “Next Generation” star LeVar Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge) — will include the cosmos-hopping cast, showrunners and others from these series:

“Star Trek: Discovery,” which kicks off its third season next month, with series actors Sonequa Martin-Green (who plays Cmdr. Michael Burnham) and new cast member David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker) and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise;
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” an upcoming “Discovery” spinoff starring Anson Mount (Capt. Christopher Pike), Rebecca Romijn (Number One) and Ethan Peck (Spock); executive producers Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers; and co-executive producers Akela Cooper and Davy Perez;
“Star Trek: Enterprise,” with Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer), Linda Park (Ensign Hoshi Sato), John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox), Dominic Keating (Lt. Malcolm Reed), Anthony Montgomery (Ensign Travis Mayweather) and Connor Trinneer (Cmdr. Charles “Trip” Tucker III).
“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” with Terry Farrell (Lt. Cmdr. Jadzia Dax), Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir), Armin Shimerman (Quark), Nana Visitor (Maj. Kira), Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) and executive producer Ira Steven Behr;
“Star Trek,” with George Takei and Roddenberry Entertainment CEO Rod Roddenberry;
“Star Trek: Lower Decks,” a new animated series featuring Tawny Newsome (Ensign Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Boimler), Noël Wells (Ensign Tendi) and Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford) and series creator, showrunner and executive producer Mike McMahan;
“Star Trek: Voyager,” with Kate Mulgrew (Capt. Kathryn Janeway), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Robert McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris), Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim), Tim Russ (Lt. Cmdr. Tuvok) and Ethan Phillips (Neelix);
“Star Trek: Picard” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” with Sir Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean-Luc Picard) and Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. William Riker).

Since the show’s pilot episode “The Man Trap” debuted, Trekkies have explored strange, new worlds through the eyes of stars William Shatner (Capt. James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Nyota Uhura), Takei (Lt. Hikaru Sulu), James Doohan (Montgomery “Scotty” Scott) and more. The franchise — which also includes 13 feature films — has found new life and new civilizations via new series entries since CBS All Access debuted in October 2014.

For more details about the event, go to StarTrek.com/Day.