By Steve Krutzler / 17:23, 8 March 2006 / General Star Trek

40th Anniversary Celebration to Feature Multi-Faceted 'Star Trek 2.0' and Saturday Marathons of Original, Un-Cut 'Star Trek' Episodes, Beginning in April

LOS ANGELES, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- As fans worldwide anticipate the 40th anniversary of the original television voyage of the Starship Enterprise, G4 announces the world premiere of "Star Trek 2.0," the first TV airings of classic Star Trek episodes to feature ground-breaking interactive components, allowing viewers to boldly go where no network has gone before.Premiering on Monday, April 10, "Star Trek 2.0" will air Mondays through Fridays at 11:00 PM ET/PT, as part of the network's popular late-night programming block. G4 will also air the Star Trek episodes in their original, non-interactive and uncut form during Saturday marathons from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM ET/PT, beginning Saturday, April 8.

G4's unique, multi-faceted format beams viewers into the action and makes the original series relevant to a whole new generation of fans. The network has created and produced innovative, on-screen features such as: live chat, through which viewers can comment on the episode and interact with each other online; an accumulating tally of "Trek Stats" that highlights the patented Star Trek quirks and plot devices that audiences have loved for decades; a variety of insider "Trek Facts"; and G4's exclusive "Spock Market," through which viewers can "buy" and "sell" stock in the characters online.

Facts, Stats and Trek Chat

During each Star Trek 2.0 airing, a classic Star Trek episode will air within an on-screen "frame" of dynamic Star Trek information, changing in real time over the course of each episode and over the course of the television season:

Trek Facts will offer little-known insider info about the series, the characters, the actors and more, giving viewers an investment in the series and its history:

    * The original Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," was produced in 1964 for more
      han $600,000.

    * The original captain of the Enterprise was not Captain Kirk.  It was
      Captain Christopher Pike, played by Jeffery Hunter.

    * The producers changed the character of the ship's doctor several times.

Trek Stats is an irreverent, affectionate and ever-growing tally of classic Star Trek moments virtually guaranteed to crop up in each episode. Tallies will increase on-screen during each episode, and continue to accumulate over the course of the season. Stats may include:

    * Spock says "logical"
    * Spock says "illogical"
    * Captain's Log entries
    * Vulcan salute
    * Red shirt deaths
    * Red alerts
    * The bridge shakes
    * Scotty's engine woes
    * Enterprise doomed
    * Uhura touches earpiece
    * Dramatic Kirk pauses
    * Dramatic music stabs
    * Hot alien women

Beam Me Up is a real-time chat room where viewers can add their two cents to the action by logging on to www.g4tv.com/trek2.0 and responding to on-screen questions and prompts regarding the episode in progress. Viewers' comments will appear in a scroll across the bottom of the television screen, encouraging interaction from other viewers. Sample chat topics include:

    * Finish this sentence: "Space ... "
    * What's a good captain made of?
    * Best Earth female to be trapped with
    * Top 10 psychic punishments
    * What illusions might help pass time?
    * Leave peacefully or smash domes in?

    Playing the Spock Market

One of the most unique and dynamic Star Trek 2.0 features is the Spock Market, a stock market simulation that turns the experience of watching Star Trek Classic into a real-time, interactive game. During the airing of each show, viewers who register on www.g4tv.com/trek2.0 are given "credits" with which to buy and sell stock in "companies," commodities and characters associated with the show. Stocks include:

    * Captain Kirk (ticker symbol JTK)
    * Spock (SPK)
    * Uhura (UHU)
    * Dr. McCoy (MDM)
    * Nurse Chapel (CHP)
    * Sulu (SLU)
    * Scotty (SCT)
    * Starship Phaser and Photon (PHP)
    * United Federation of Planets (FED)

A real-time stock ticker running on the right-hand side of the TV screen shows the gains and losses of each stock as they are affected by the events in each episode -- and by the increase or decrease in demand for that stock on the part of other players.

Kirk's stock may increase slightly, for example, if he engages in liplock with a female character (and slightly more if that character is an alien). On the other hand, Kirk's stock may take a dramatic dip if he is relieved of duty at any point during the episode.

Viewer-investors can find detailed stock descriptions and prospectuses on the G4 Web site, along with hints as to the events that might trigger stock changes.

These are the voyages...

The first episode of Star Trek, "The Man Trap," aired on September 8, 1966 -- though it was actually the fifth episode to be produced.

Creator-producer Gene Roddenberry originally produced a pilot episode entitled "The Cage," featuring an almost entirely different cast of characters and actors, led by actor Jeffrey Hunter. (Spock was the only character to survive from that original pilot). When NBC rejected "The Cage," Roddenberry created a second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before," starring William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock.

Though it spawned five other television series, 10 movies, scores of Trek merchandise, more than 70 video game titles and legions of fans known as Trekkies, the original series lasted only three seasons. The last original episode, "The Turnabout Intruder," aired on June 3, 1969.

Star Trek: The Next Generation launched on G4 on January 8, 2006. It airs Monday through Sunday at 8:00 and 9:00 PM ET/PT.

About G4

G4 launched in April 2002 and is now available in 55 million cable and satellite homes nationwide. The #1 podcasted cable network in America and a leader in VOD, G4's programming includes breaking video game industry news, trends, reviews, the hottest games and gear, celebrity interviews and insider opinions. Targeting the male 18-34 audience, G4 is the last word on games, sports, technology, animation, interactivity, the Internet and broadband. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and is owned by Comcast Corporation. To learn more, log onto www.g4tv.com.