As District Attorney of Shelby County, Steve Mulroy works “to enhance public safety” and “ensure equal justice for all,” according to the website for his office.
But Mulroy’s interest in safety and justice long precedes his 2022 election to the county’s top law enforcement office.
As a kid, he learned that progressive values can influence public action when he watched “Star Trek,” the 1960s science-fiction series that spun off a franchise of movies, television programs, books, conventions and other media expressions and activities that continue today.
A diehard “Trek” fan, Mulroy was a county commissioner in 2015 when he introduced a resolution declaring April 9 (his birthday) as “Star Trek Day in Shelby County.” The resolution passed, and a tradition was born. The date is now a fixture on the county calendar, but the “Star Trek Day” celebration hops around to different days because it takes place on the weekend.
“When we first did it, we had 15 people,” Mulroy said. “We did it as a lark, it was supposed to be a one-time thing. But the community really responded. Now, we usually get close to 100 people.”
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event. So here are 10 things to know about “Star Trek” and Star Trek Day in Shelby County.
1. The free public Star Trek Day celebration is set for 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday at Neil’s, 5725 Quince Road.
2. Some of the events include a 5 p.m. screening of a classic episode from one of the “Star Trek” programs; a 4 p.m. costume and trivia contest; and a talk on the science behind “holo-deck” technology. Memorabilia, merchandise and “Trek”-themed food and drink (“Romulan ale”!) will be on sale. The full schedule of activities is on the Shelby County Star Trek Day Facebook page.
3. The day’s highlight likely will be an almost hour-long Zoom Q&A at 3 p.m. with what Mulroy calls “bona fide ‘Trek’ celebrities,” the most prominent being Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander William T. Riker on all 178 episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” from 1987 to 1994. Others scheduled to participate include actor Armin Shimerman, who played Quark, a bartender and member of the alien Ferengi species, on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”; Shimerman’s wife, Kitty Swink, an actress who guest-starred on “Deep Space Nine” episodes; and television veteran Juan Carlos Coto, a writer and producer on several “Trek” episodes. Mulroy will act as host for the Q&A. “I’ll roam among the tables, Phil Donahue-style, with a microphone in hand,” he said, “so people can ask questions.”
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Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander William T. Riker on all 178 episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” will take part in a Zoom Q&A on Shelby County Star Trek Day.
4. The event is more than Spock ears, Klingon costumes and Shatner jokes: It also has a serious side. This year’s “Star Trek Day” also is a fundraiser for the “Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer” program of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, a charity supported by Frakes, Shimerman and Swink.
5. Now sometimes referred to as “The Original Series,” the first “Star Trek” program debuted on Sept. 8, 1966, introducing the classic spacefaring trio of Capt. Kirk (William Shatner, now 94), Vulcan science officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and chief medical officer Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Never a hit, the series lasted three seasons.
6. Released in 1979 in the wake of “Star Wars,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” got the gang back together. Thirteen theatrical feature films followed, including a trilogy “reboot” set in an alternative timeline (with Chris Pine as Kirk), and four derived from…
7. …”Star Trek: The Next Generation,” the first and most successful of the numerous network and streaming live-action series that followed and that continue today with “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” on the Paramount+ network.
Ethan Peck as Spock in the Paramount+ original series, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”
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8. Onscreen “Trek” is popular, but printed-page “Trek” reproduces as rapidly as Tribbles. Since 1968, close to 850 “Star Trek” novels have appeared, including some written by Memphis’ own John Jackson Miller.
9. Another Memphis “Trek” connection is Charles Washburn (1938-2012). A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School here, Washburn was as assistant director and second-unit director on the original “Star Trek” (as an in-joke, a character was named “Lt. Washburn” on the 1967 episode, “The Doomsday Machine”) and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
10. Mulroy said “Star Trek” remains relevant to his life and work. “‘Star Trek’ was a pioneer in showing and extolling the value of diversity, and that’s something we still treasure and value at the District Attorney’s office,” he said. “It also had an important message of tolerance and understanding and mutual cooperation, and any criminal justice system worth its salt embraces those values.”
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Star Trek Day in Shelby County turns 10: What’s planned for 2025 event
