Star Trek

Leonard Nimoy, science fiction fan favorite for his portrayal of Spock on Star Trek: The Original Series, attended his final Star Trek convention last weekend. He bid farewell to the convention circuit at a convention in suburban Chicago, which was also celebrating the 45th anniversary of Star Trek.

During the event, Leonard gave an hour-long presentation of his life and career, including his struggles to become an actor, which even included a gig as a cab driver who once had a very famous passenger — John F. Kennedy. Fellow Star Trek star Jonathan Frakes (Riker to fans), who was also on hand for the farewell, estimated Leonard has attended about 125 conventions, all to see and connect with the fans who made the space show popular.

Leonard concluded his speech by telling the audience "May each and every one of you live long and prosper" and flashing the Vulcan V sign. He'll continue to work on his other passions, including photography and the arts.

Were you lucky enough to meet Leonard at past fan conventions?

Source: Flickr User Gage Skidmore

Uh oh, dems fighting words, William Shatner. In a recent interview posted to his YouTube channel, the original Captain Kirk cheekily pokes fun at rival space movie, Star Wars, saying "Star Trek had relationships ... and stories on humanity ... Star Wars was special effects." He goes on to praise the J.J. Abrams incarnation of Star Trek noting the new film's special effects provide even more credibility to the franchise.

Watch the video below, and tell us which side of the entertainment space wars you're on.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Star Trek, and the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention is bringing the big names from the entire series to one fan-filled location. The convention schedule can be a bit tricky to navigate, so we narrowed down the five events no Trekkie can miss once in Vegas.

1. Leonard Nimoy photography seminar, Friday, August 12 at 7 p.m. — The original Spock will lecture on conceptual photography, a subject he knows much about with his recent photography exhibit Secret Selves, portraits of people dressed as their fantasy personalities.
2. The Captains on Stage, Sunday, August 14 at 1:20 p.m. — In the main theater, former Star Trek captains Sir Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, and Kate Mulgrew will take to the main stage in front of thousands of awestruck fans.
3. World record of most Star Trek costumes in one place — Need to beat the current world record set by the European convention FEDCON this May of 691 costumed attendees. Saturday, August 13, at 4:15 p.m., the Star Trek Las Vegas Convention will attempt to beat the record.

Two more events for convention goers after the break.

The documentary The Captains, produced and directed by the original Star Trek captain William Shatner, will premiere tonight at 8 p.m. EDT on EpixHD.

The film looks at Shatner's life and career post-Captain Kirk and includes intimate conversations with other actors that have played captains in the Star Trek franchise, which will, of course, feature Patrick Stewart and Chris Pine as well. Check out the film's trailer below and sign up for a free Epix trial for a look at life as a captain.

In the August 2011 issue of GQ, cover girl Mila Kunis chats about her latest movie with Justin Timberlake, but also describes her obsession with Star Trek.

Besides being a recovering World of Warcraft addict, she also knows a thing or two about the Star Trek series, goes to great lengths to satisfy her Trekkie urges, and even has some special memorabilia from the cast. Check out what she had to say about the series below.

• On when she started watching: I got into it in my late teens—18, 19, 20. Something like that. I got into it later than most people. But let's not talk about it in the past tense. I'm still a Star Trek fan. You never stop being one. Let me give you my rundown of the series in order of most favorite to least favorite.
• On her favorite series: OK. You should know this list is an ongoing argument between Seth MacFarlane and myself. But I have it: The Next Generation; the original series; then Voyager. . . . After Voyager, then I have Deep Space Nine. Then last is Enterprise.
• On Star Trek fandom: I went to the Star Trek Experience in Vegas maybe five years ago. I hung out with a bunch of fake characters inside Quark's bar. There were all these actors there pretending to be the different characters from the different shows. Yes, I loved it.
• On Star Trek Memoribilia: I also have a signed Leonard Nimoy photo in a little frame that a girlfriend gave to me for my 21st birthday. And I've got a bunch of vintage Star Trek figurines given to me by Jason Segel. God, it's so embarrassing.