Rescuing the Star Trek past

In Nablopomo for May: Comfort, I quoted the email from Nablopomo about sources of comfort.

Taking a night to sit in sweats and watch your favourite television show does more than allow you to relax; it helps you to recharge so you can keep leaving your comfort zone and doing the hard work of repairing the world.

One of my favorite series was Star Trek, both The Original Series and The Next Generation.*  I was never such a die-hard fan as to go to conventions, let alone do what these two groups of fans are doing, salvaging and reconstructing sets from both The Original Series and The Next Generation.

First, Space.com brings its readers and viewers its reporting of the reconstruction of the bridge of the Enterprise-D.

Star Trek TNG Bridge Restoration Called For In Kickstarter Campaign | Video

The original Enterprise-D's bridge was blown up in Star Trek: Generations, but in the late 1990's a duplicate was made by Paramount. Its parts was taken off the scrap heap and there is hope to create it into an interactive experience.

Refurbished 'Star Trek' Bridge Aims To Beam To San Diego
by Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor
Date: 26 April 2013 Time: 02:55 PM ET

Calling all wannabe space captains: The starship Enterprise bridge from television's "Star Trek" may open to the public in the next year. After lying in a studio backyard for years, a display version of the bridge from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is slowly being refurbished by a group called New Starship.

Nothing's confirmed yet, but organizer Huston Huddleston said he is in talks with the San Diego Air & Space Museum to bring the bridge there in the middle of 2014. It will remain there for a year, the plan goes, before possibly hitting the road for other locations.

This exhibit, Huddleston said, would not only include the bridge, but recreations of other iconic "Star Trek" ship locations such as the transporter room and Captain Jean-Luc Picard's personal quarters. (The museum confirmed the talks to SPACE.com, but said plans are yet to be finalized.)

Tested.com has more in an interview with Huddleston.

Restoring the Star Trek: The Next Generation Enterprise Bridge

We meet the organizers of the Enterprise-D restoration project and learn about their plans to reconstruct a complete starship bridge set from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Turns out, the pieces of this bridge were just left out to waste away in the Paramount Studio lot for years before being discovered and salvaged.

Find out more about the project at: http://www.newstarship.com

Space.com also posted about an attempt to reconstruct the Galileo shuttlecraft from The Original Series.

Original Star Trek Galileo Spacecraft - Where Is It Today? | Video

The TV prop builder, Gene Winfield, 'beams' back to the time of construction to recount the backstory of the ship. It is currently being restored, more info about the project can be found at www.galileorestoration.com.

Original 'Star Trek' Galileo Shuttlecraft Restored by Loving Fans
by Miriam Kramer, SPACE.com Staff Writer
Date: 23 April 2013 Time: 05:40 PM ET

NEW YORK — Two "Star Trek" fans are boldly attempting what many have tried (and failed) to do before: breathing new life into a beloved TV shuttlecraft.

Adam Schneider and Alec Peters — two superfans of the venerable 1960s TV show — are a few weeks away from completing the first successful restoration of the life-size Shuttlecraft Galileo, a 24-foot (7.3 meter) long set piece featured on the show.

Before Schneider and Peters came along, other "Star Trek" fans tried to restore Galileo but nothing lasted. The shuttlecraft was eventually stored in Ohio until Schneider bought it at auction in 2012. [See Photos of the Galileo Restoration]

While people may despair of seeing a Star Trek future, these fans are finding comfort and purpose in rescuing Star Trek's past.

*I also liked Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  I wasn't as keen on Enterprise.  By the time that show rolled around, I had shifted most of my fandom interest to anime and reality TV.  Besides, it wasn't that great.  I like the rebooted movie more.