50 Years of Star Trek Cast and Crew Team Up for “Trek Against Trump”
Image via Trek Against Trump/FacebookFirst it was The Avengers, then it was the stars of HBO, and now it’s Star Trek.
Trek Against Trump is a movement by the casts and crews behind the Star Trek franchise to keep Donald Trump from the White House.
Star Trek has always offered a positive vision of the future, a vision of hope and optimism, and most importantly, a vision of inclusion, where people of all races are accorded equal respect and dignity, where individual beliefs and lifestyles are respected so long as they pose no threat to others. We cannot turn our backs on what is happening in the upcoming election. Never has there been a presidential candidate who stands in such complete opposition to the ideals of the Star Trek universe as Donald Trump.
But Trek Against Trump doesn’t just want you to vote against Trump, they want you to vote for Hillary Clinton.
We have heard people say they will vote Green or Libertarian or not at all because the two major candidates are equally flawed. That is both illogical and inaccurate. Either Secretary Clinton or Mr. Trump will occupy the White House. One is an amateur with a contemptuous ignorance of national laws and international realities, while the other has devoted her life to public service, and has deep and valuable experience with the proven ability to work with Congress to pass desperately needed legislation. If, as some say, the government is broken, a protest vote will not fix it.
As of this writing, there are 110 people from all eras of Trek who have added their names to the statement. Original cast members George Takei and Walter Koenig, and Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer have all signed, along with Gene Roddenberry’s, Leonard Nimoy’s and James Doohan’s sons.
Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula, among others, have turned up to represent The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.
The reboot cast and crew have also turned out, with J.J. Abrams, Justin Lin, Alex Kurtzman, John Cho, Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Simon Pegg all signing. Bryan Fuller, who is currently in the middle of developing the newest incarnation of Trek, Star Trek: Discovery, has also put his name on the petition.
Some of the most noticeable omissions are William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols and Patrick Stewart, though their absences aren’t necessarily indicative of any political beliefs.
As a fun bonus, if you want to see fans completely misunderstand the thing they claim to love, check out the comments on the movement’s Facebook and Twitter pages claiming that you shouldn’t put politics in Star Trek. You can read the full petition here.
The full list of participant names is below, though it is being continuously updated on the Facebook page as more Trek cast and crew come on board.
J.J. Abrams
Allan Apone
Richard Arnold
René Auberjonois
Scott Bakula
Ira Steven Behr
Rick Berman
John Billingsley
Christopher Black
Paula Block
Paul Boehmer
André Bormanis
Brannon Braga
Mark Robert Brown
LeVar Burton
Terri Potts-Chattaway
John Cho
Tracee Cocco
George Colucci
Mimi Cozzens
Denise Crosby
Dan Curry
Joseph D’Agosta
Peter David
Nicole de Boer
Keith R.A. DeCandido
John de Lancie
Jonathan Del Arco
John DeMita
Chris Doohan
Paul Eiding
Aron Eisenberg
Terry Erdmann
Terry Farrell
Lolita Fatjo
David C. Fein
Juan Carlos Fernandez
Louise Fletcher
Jonathan Frakes
Bryan Fuller
Dave Galanter
Tim Gaskill
David Gerrold
Robert Greenberger
Bruce Greenwood
Max Grodénchik
Martha Hackett
Glenn Hauman
Manu Intiraymi
Michael Jan Friedman
Dominic Keating
John Knoll
Walter Koenig
Alex Kurtzman
Judith Levitt
Jeff Lewis
Justin Lin
David Mack
Dennis Madalone
Chase Masterson
Dakin Matthews
Gates McFadden
Robert Duncan McNeill
Nicholas Meyer
Anthony Montgomery
Ronald B. Moore
Tom Morga
Kate Mulgrew
Larry Nemecek
Adam Nimoy
Susan Nimoy
Robert O’Reilly
Linda Park
Leslie Parrish
Robb Pearlman
Simon Pegg
Randy Pflug
Ethan Phillips
Robert Picardo
Sandra Piller
Chris Pine
Emmett Plant
Zachary Quinto
Michael Reisz
Andrew Robinson
Eugene & Heidi Roddenberry
Marvin Rush
Tim Russ
Zoe Saldana
Ralph Senensky
Naren Shankar
Armin Shimerman
Gregory Smith
Brent Spiner
Rick Sternbach
Peter Sternlicht
Eric Stillwell
Jay Stobie
Sandy Stone
Carel Struycken
Marina Sirtis
Michael Sussman
Kitty Swink
George Takei
Michael Taylor
Hallie Todd Withrow
Connor Trinneer
Karl Urban
Wil Wheaton
Herman Zimmerman