On the heels of winning the TV Guide Online Video Award for Best Sci-Fi Webisodes, Star Trek Phase II has been nominated for a Hugo Award. Star Trek Phase II, formerly known as Star Trek: New Voyages, has been nominated in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category for “World Enough and Time,” which was released in March 2007. Also nominated in that category were Battlestar Galactica “Razor”, Dr. Who “Blink” and “Human Nature”, and Torchwood “Captain Jack Harkness”. This nomination illustrates the power of both Star Trek and the fans to hold it's place in our world and today's culture.

People often say that is an honor just to be nominated for major awards, and I would say that being nominated for a Hugo is definitely an honor, because unlike some other awards, both the nominees and winners can be selected by anyone who chooses to participate, professionals and non-professionals alike. The Hugo Awards are selected by those who truly love science fiction; those who see all the wonders that it can bring into our lives. Those who read and watch it, as well as those who are lucky enough to create it. I find myself agreeing more with nominees for and winners of awards when they are selected by a cross-section of persons – the best of both worlds.

For those who may not be familiar with the Hugo Awards, they were first awarded in 1953, and have been awarded annually since 1955. They are named after science fiction editor Hugo Gernsback, the founder of Amazing Stories, which was the first major American science fiction magazine. In addition to the category mentioned above, awards are given in 13 other categories, spanning both written and filmed work as well as editors and artists. The Hugo Awards are sponsored by the World Science Fiction Society, and awarded at their annual convention, Worldcon. Convention attendees are allowed to vote, but for those not attending who wish to vote, you may purchase a “supporting membership” that will allow you to become a member of the society, and therefore be eligible to both nominate and vote (the current cost is $50 and can be purchased from the website that I will give at the end of this article).

Star Trek has both been nominated for and won several Hugo Awards over the years, starting with “The Menagerie” in 1967, which one Best Dramatic Presentation, beating out two other Star Trek episodes (“The Naked Time” and “The Corbomite Maneuver”) and the movies Fantastic Voyage and Fahrenheit 451. That's impressive company, if you ask me. The next year, “The City on the Edge of Forever” won that same award, with the other four nominees also being Star Trek episodes. The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Enterprise were nominated several times, with TNG winning for “The Inner Light” and “All Good Things”. While not winning, the movies ST:III, ST:IV, ST:VI, ST:VIII, and ST:IX were all nominated. Gene Roddenberry unfortunately never won personally, but he was nominated twice for other programs (Genesis II and Questor Tapes).

Just to give you an idea of the scope of the Hugo Awards, author winners include George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Phillip K. Dick, Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. Le Guin, and J. K. Rowling. George Lucas has been honored multiple times, winning for all three of the original Star Wars films as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, while Arthur C. Clarke has been honored for both 2001 and 2010. Other winning movies include Superman, Alien, Aliens, Blade Runner, and  Back to the Future. Among the TV shows that have won Hugo Awards are The Twilight Zone, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Doctor Who. I daresay that to be even nominated into such prestigious company is quite an honor for all the people who worked so hard to produce all of the webisodes of Star Trek Phase II. While “World Enough and Time” is the one that was nominated, both the work and those involved have grown and evolved from something very good to something truly excellent. To even be nominated for a Hugo Award shows that the science fiction community has embraced this new incarnation of Star Trek, and after all, isn't that what it's all about?

(Please visit www.thehugoawards.org for information about the Hugo Awards, including how to join the WSFS so that you may vote, and a listing of not only this year's other nominees but past winners and nominees. The official webpage for Star Trek Phase II is www.startreknewvoyages.com and www.startrekphase2.com and there you can get information on the series, as well as how to watch the webisodes and download their official e-magazine.)