Takei Supports IFT In Voyages Interview
2 min readOn June 15, The International Federation of Trekkers (IFT) will launch their new website, and part of their relaunch includes the premiere of Voyages, their official publication, as reported earlier here and here.
TrekToday received a sneak peek of the forthcoming issue, and one of the articles in the magazine features Star Trek‘s George Takei, who has a long association with the IFT, or the “Federation” as it is sometimes called.
Takei spoke about the relaunch and his past experiences with the Federation. “I don’t think IFT needs a refit,” he said. “Terms like that make it sound like it needs fixing. IFT doesn’t need fixing.”
“I don’t think ‘refit’ or ‘reinvention’ reflects the pride you should have in IFT’s accomplishments. It makes it sound like IFT is worn down.”
Fans may remember that IFT supported the creation of a U.S.S. Excelsior television series featuring Takei. “Back in the 1990s, said Takei, “Russ Haslage contacted me about a campaign to launch a new Star Trek series called Excelsior, which would have been based on the adventures of the U.S.S. Excelsior and Captain Sulu. And of course I have a deep and profound love and interest in Captain Sulu.
“And I must say, Russ and IFT mounted a very impressive campaign. It was a substantial idea. There was a huge following for it. And after all, Star Trek VI seemed to have opened the door for an Excelsior television series. But for whatever reason, Paramount didn’t pick up the idea. So despite that massive and heroic effort that was launched by all of the people, and I was absolutely convinced that the audience was there based on the reception of Star Trek VI, the idea didn’t go through. I was absolutely baffled.”
According to Takei, ITF is in keeping with Gene Roddenberry‘s vision of the future. “What IFT has been doing is really laudable,” said Takei. “It is reflecting the philosophy of people working together to improve our society, which is absolutely in keeping with Gene’s vision.”
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