State of the Arts Episode 97: The Star Trek Special just released! Four enthusiastic trekkies converge over Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi juggernaut on State of the Arts! Derek Upright hosts this out-of-this-world episode along with myself, classic entertainment connoisseur Anthony Bonilla and my music composer husband Joe Grado Jr.! Together we boldly go where no SOTA episode has gone before as we discuss a vast array of topics; from which Star Trek characters we most identify ourselves with to recent technological advancements that were predicted in this ground breaking franchise. A gracious shout-out to Star Trek actor James Lee Stanley, who was a guest on State of the Arts a while back. Playing a Klingon, Bjorn and other extraterrestrials, he became a regular on Star Trek Deep Space Nine. From humble beginnings as a 1960s prime time show to an entire universe of movies, shows, comic books, cartoons, toys and conventions, Star Trek has reached explosive success in the past six decades. This episode is dedicated to Nichelle Nichols who passed away this year at age 89. She played Uhura on the original show and was the first African American actress to be cast in a leading role on main-stream television. Hats off to Gene Roddenberry for the creation of this ingenious phenomenon that has evolved into one of the world's most intriguing subcultures! A grateful declaration of thanks to my three beloved cohosts on this riveting new episode!
