Star Trek

Last week a rumor floated around the Internet that two science fiction powerhouses, Doctor Who and Star Trek would meet in an epic comic book pairing. Now, there's confirmation that Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation² will reach store shelves in May 2012.

This is the cover of the first issue in an eight-part series following the Eleventh Doctor, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and his Enterprise crew as they save the galaxy from an evil alliance. Written by Scott and David Tipton and featuring fully painted artwork by J.K. Woodward, the debut issue pairs familiar villains the Borg and the Cybermen in an attempt to destroy humanity.

If the first issue in this crossover series includes some of the most popular villains, we can't wait to see what other frightening forces will make an appearance in the remaining seven issues. The Weeping Angels? Q?

Two beautiful worlds are set to collide this May when publisher IDW will reportedly release a Doctor Who/Star Trek: The Next Generation crossover comic book series. Eleven and his current companions Amy and Rory will join the familiar cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation led by Captain Picard.

Star Trek has seen its share of comic book collaborations in the past, including one with X-Men; this comic would be the first time the Doctor explores strange new worlds with an already-popular sci-fi show. The comic could be potentially filled with many exciting story lines and evil villains from both programs. Will Daleks return to battle Borgs? We'll find out soon, when hopefully this series is officially announced.

Photo Source: Star Trek Facebook and Doctor Who Facebook

Does sitting down with your favorite sci-fi novel, fantasy movie, or comic book sound better than dropping a boatload of cash on a Valentine's Day dinner date? You're not alone. These 10 geeky date ideas are two things — awesomely cheap and easy to pull off for your kindred sci-fi and/or fantasy nerd. Cheers to you!

1. Throw a Star Wars party for two.
2. Make some Lembas bread together and watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
3. Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
4. Bake some geeky sweets using Star Wars-themed cookie cutters.
5. Gift a geeky cookbook and try out a recipe together.
6. Create your own cocktail and top it off with nerdy ice cubes.
7. Take in a killer sci-fi classic at your local drive-in.
8. Make a pink Captain Picard cake to celebrate Valentine's Day and your mutual love for the captain who is number two in your heart.
9. Make some Earl Grey tea and watch a Star Trek marathon.
10. Rewatch the first season of Game of Thrones or start a book club for two and reread the series together.

Love may be a universal language, but we're not sure that phrase includes the sci-fi alien races and fantastical creatures that rule the far depths of the galaxy, who express love in words beyond our human comprehension. When you're thinking of a unique way to woo your valentine this year, plan a tutorial to learn together one of these 14 geeky languages. While several of these Trekkie, Tolkien, or computer gaming-inspired languages have enough depth to warrant a university level class, many are not fully realized, so have fun discovering select words and phrases to bring to future geeky date outings.

• Wookie — Made up of three dialects, the main Wookie language is Shyriiwook. As you'd expect it consists of lots of barks and grunts, but don't you dare say that to Chewbacca. The Star Wars Christmas Special has detailed examples of this mystifying tongue.
• Klingon — The language of Klingons, the sometimes ally of the Federation, is arguably the best known of the imagined star languages. Described by its Hollywood creators as gutteral in tone, dedicated Trekkies maintain the Klingon Language Institue, preserving the galaxy's "fastest growing language."
• Vulcan — Known as the language of Spock, one version of Vulcan looks like musical notes. Much of the language is available online today as Gene Roddenberry was insistent when making Star Trek: The Motion Picture that the Vulcans receive their own linguistic treatment.
• Romulan — As biological cousins of the Vulcans, the Romulan language is difficult to differentiate from Vulcan to the untrained ear. The Central Institute of the Romulan Language ensures you get the right training to one day know the difference.
• Cardassian — Residents of the Alpha Quadrant, Cardassians are a fearsome foe of the Federation. Little is known of their language, maybe because of its rectangular-shaped letters and script.
• Andorian — The blue-skinned moon species from Andora appeared throughout the Star Trek series and would of course show up in the directory of a PADD.
• Elvish — With a background in linguistics study from Oxford, Tolkien did not take the creation of the Lord of the Rings languages lightly. Based on Welsh and English, you can study Liv Tyler's Arwen in the film trilogy for pronunciation and read the many online Elvish resources, including an English to Elvish dictionary.
• Dwarvish — Also called Khuzdul, Tolkien is said to have drawn inspiration for the secret language of the Dwarves from Hebrew, reflecting many of the same sounds and structure. As many Lord of the Rings languages, it's been almost fully realized and you can study up with the Dwarvish dictionary.

Check out even more languages to geek out over after the jump.

The newest addition to our Geeks We Love list, Mr. Sherlock Holmes himself, Benedict Cumberbatch upped his cool geek factor this week by signing on to play the villain in the upcoming Star Trek movie.

JJ Abrams' second take at Captain Kirk-era Star Trek isn't due in theaters until 2013, but based on Benedict's performance as the intense and tech-savvy Sherlock Holmes in BBC's Sherlock, we'll gladly wait patiently for the final touches of his fearsome Star Fleet enemy.

Benedict will also voice Smaug the dragon in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit coming to theaters at the end of the year. Though the second season of Sherlock is already under way for lucky British viewers, Americans must wait until May for their Benedict fix on BBC America. Rest assured, we'll be seeing much more of him in the coming two years.

Dreamed of living alongside Picard and Riker in the plush interiors of the Enterprise? Qantas gets you a little bit closer — for a fee. For the price of a First Class international ticket aboard Qantas Airways, take a seat in their neutral-tone luxury cabin, which bears a striking resemblance to the Starfleet ship.

LCD touch panels, leather seating, and sheepskin-covered full-length beds are just a few of the amenities featured in a space to rival our favorite galactic crew.

Here's one way to bring a bit of geekery to the holiday season: decorate your Christmas tree with Star Trek and Star Wars ship ornaments! It looks like the tree is even topped off with a Leia figurine. So geeky.

Source: Flickr user JD Hancock