Okay, I just watched the coolest thing on The History Channel:
40 Years Of Star Trek: The Collection
In October 2006, as many of you Trek fans (like me) know, Paramount Studios got rid of a huge amount of Star Trek props, set pieces, costumes, and miscellaneous stuff by having the famous Christie’s Auction House do a giant auction of it.
The auction wound up being one of Christie’s biggest ever, because there was so much stuff, and it also wound up breaking records for the most money spent on “Pop Culture Memorabilia”.
The History Channel did a documentary on the auction, from over 6 months before it (while everything was being prepped and catalogued and photographed) up to shortly after it. The documentary was wonderful to watch, as it also included a ton of interviews with Trek cast, producers, designers and writers. Plus, it had a ton of just normal fans who got a chance to bid on and buy items from Star Trek history. Alien masks for about $900 went to normal folks like me who decided they could spend a little money on a keepsake, and giant pieces went to people who had…a bit more to spend.
Like the guy who bought the 8 foot model of the Enterprise-D for $500,000.00! Yep, half a million. I suppose if you’ve got it, you might as well spend it!
So, for a couple of hours, I had a nice little Trek fix. The cast interviews were great, and it was also really touching to see all of the “regular joe” fans of the show win some of the smaller to medium priced bids: the genuine excitement and emotion of the fans getting something important to them was absolutely infectious.
So, yep. A documentary worth watching…especially if you’re someone who’s interested in that stuff…and that’s me. Husband, father, director, producer, Justice League fan, Star Trek fan, baseball fan. And proud of ’em all!
Tony Caselli 
*drools while reading this post*
Oh
My
GOSH!
feeling better? I already miss Buffalo!
It was a really well done, cool documentary. And the event itself was amazing! Such a collection of stuff – I wish I could’ve just walked through the display room!
Yep, I’m feeling much better, thanks!
Oh, and Buffalo misses you too. I asked, they said they did.
*looking through her TV trying to find it to DVR it*.. that sounds like a fabulous evening with popcorn!
I’m glad to hear you are!
Well, isn’t that sweet. I really really really love the old buildings down town there.. I wanted to photograph them so badly I could TASTE it!
Oooh, man. Popcorn sounds good!
Instead, I think I’m going to sleep! 🙂
I saw that too!
Dave and I were figuring out how to justify spending half a million on the Enterprise-D model. He said “You’d be pissed at me if I came home and told you I bought that!” I said “No I wouldn’t! How sweet would that be to hang in the living room of the house that was just forclosed on to buy it?!”
Ahh, It’s a good thing neither one of us knew about that auction….
Wasn’t that cool!? Man, that big Enterprise, and to be honest, I was REALLY coveting the giant Deep Space Nine model!!
It lit up!!
You could plug the DS-9 in the wall and go “Look at my cool coffee-table! It lights up!”
Beats the heck out of the light-up Klingon ship ornament we have for the tree….