Today is First Contact Day. April 5th marks the future holiday commemorating when Earth joined the galactic community in the Star Trek universe. April 5, 2063, is the day that pioneer Zephram Cochrane powered up the warp drive in his ship, the Phoenix, and took it into space. The voyage attracted the attention of a Vulcan ship that was passing by. The Vulcan crew touched down on Earth and made the first contact with humanity. The film Star Trek: First Contact reveals that these events were a bit more complicated. The film shows that some time-traveling Borg got involved, as well as the crew from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
How do you celebrate First Contact Day? The obvious answer is to watch Star Trek: First Contact, which is streaming on Amazon Prime. The film is directed by beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes and written by Star Trek stalwarts Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore. They're responsible for choosing which day to make First Contact Day. Moore told StarTrek.com, "The short answer on First Contact Day is that it's my oldest son, Jonathan's birthday. And that's the only reason the date was chosen."
With little else to do during COVID-19 quarantine and a desire for social contact, fans aren't just watching First Contact, but watching and live-tweeting with other Star Trek fans. We've gathered up some of those tweets here and you can see what fans are saying about the movie below.
In Star Trek: First Contact, "The Enterprise and its crew follow a Borg ship through a time warp to prevent the Borg from taking over the Earth in a past era. Stuck in the past, Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) helps a pioneer of space travel (James Cromwell) in his efforts to create the first warp drive while Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner) battle the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) as she tries to take over the Enterprise."
The film stars Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as William Riker, Brent Spiner as Data, LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, Michael Dorn as Worf, Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Alfre Woodard as Lily Sloane, James Cromwell as Sephram Cochrane, and Alice Krige as the Borg Queen.
How are you celebrating First Contact Day? Let us know in the comments section, and live long and prosper.
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