Trekkie star savors his long-ago future

Nearly a half-century after its inception, Star Trek remains hotter and more relevant than ever.

J.J. Abrams revitalized the mothballed franchise with two slick big-screen adventures, Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek into Darkness (2013), and CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Distribution are in the process of releasing Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) on Blu-ray, with each episode remastered in crystal-clear high-definition.

"It blows my mind," says Jonathan Frakes, who played William Riker, aka Number 1, on The Next Generation for all seven seasons of the show's run. "We go to conventions now, and there are more people and we're doing better than we did 10 years ago, 15 years ago. I think the marketing has been really smart. I'm a big J.J. fan. And the loyalty of our fans never ceases to amaze me.