By Scott Meeker

smeeker@joplinglobe.com

Space. The final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship William Wallace ...

In 21st century terms, Raymond Brown and John Harwood are, respectively, the president and vice president of the local chapter of Starfleet: The International Star Trek Fan Association Inc.

But in 23rd century parlance, they are the captain and first officer of the William Wallace, one of the starships assigned to patrol Region 12 of Starfleet.

As director J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the “Star Trek” franchise beams into theaters today, Brown and Harwood see the film as a chance to introduce it to a whole new generation of potential fans.

Harwood, who lives in Miami, Okla., said that he has been a fan of “Trek” since the show first aired in 1966.

“The first time I saw it I was impressed by the hope for the future, the desire to have a better world than what you saw on the news that night,” he said. “It taught me a lot of things: honor, ethics, tolerance. Growing up in the South at that time, tolerance was not something that was there.”

Brown, of Joplin, was similarly captivated when the show debuted.

“People identified with these characters,” he said, “whether it was the first African-American woman (with a continuing role on a network series), or someone portraying a Russian.

“The most enduring feature was the original trio — Kirk, Spock and McCoy — and how they played off of one another. Kirk being impulsive, McCoy with his emotions and human element and, of course, Spock being logical and pointing out the irrationalities of the human element. It was kind of a yin/yang thing.”

Peaks and valleys

While the original series lasted only three seasons, its popularity exploded when it went into syndication. It spawned four spinoffs, 10 feature films and an animated series.

But after the underperforming film “Star Trek: Nemesis” in 2002 and the cancellation of the TV series “Enterprise” in 2005, the franchise seemed in danger of vanishing into the final frontier.

Brown, who said he keeps track of the national membership numbers in his organization, said that there was a downturn in terms of dues-paying members over the past few years.

“We currently have about 3,500 members worldwide,” he said. “The numbers are picking back up because the local organizations are getting the word back out.”

Harwood said that the true fans of the show have never stopped feeling a sense of loyalty toward it.

“In any organization you’re going to hit peaks and valleys,” he said. “But when you have something new, people get excited all over again.”

In Abrams’ “Star Trek,” a time-traveling Romulan bent on revenge is set on a collision course with a young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the other familiar faces of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Linking the original series to its new incarnation is Leonard Nimoy, who returns as the future version of Spock.

Inevitably, there are changes to the established “Trek” canon, which some longtime fans will likely refuse to live long and prosper with.

“I’m not 100-percent enthusiastic about (the new movie), but I am happy that they are revisiting it and doing something with it,” Brown said. “I’ve heard a lot of discussion from die-hard Trekkers who are not embracing the movie with open arms, but they are definitely tolerating it.”

There are fans of the original series who haven’t embraced anything that came after it, said Harwood. He said he’s been impressed with the trailers and clips he’s seen of the new movie online.

“But no one is going to know until you get out there, go see the movie and make your own judgment,” he said.

‘Not going anywhere’

The William Wallace is always happy to accept new crew members, according to its captain.

“You have the local chapters — over 200 worldwide — that are divided up into 20 regions,” Brown said. “Each region has a coordinator. Then we have an executive board, an admiralty board and we actually elect a fleet admiral and vice fleet admiral every three years.”

“We do try to meet as much as we can,” said Harwood. “People who like ‘Star Trek’ like being around each other, not just because of ‘Star Trek’ but to go out and do things.

“If a charity needs help, we’re there and willing to help. Our goal is to help the community and have fun while we’re doing it.”

Brown said that many of the Starfleet chapters have planned recruitment drives timed around the release of the new movie, which he believes will help create a younger generation of Trekkers.

“If you stand at the movie theater, you will be surprised at how many people of all ages will be going to see this movie,” said Harwood.

“‘Star Trek’ is still alive,” he said. “It’s not going anywhere.”



Enlist today

For more information about Starfleet: The International Star Trek Fan Association Inc., visit www.sfi.org or contact Raymond Brown at kb0stn@sbcglobal.net.