Part 1 of this exclusive interview with Eugene W. Roddenberry and Scott Colthorp can be found here.

For some reason, no one in the George W. Bush Administration is ready to call "Operation Iraqi Freedom" a "victory" quite yet.

American and British troops have led a small coalition of nations in toppling the regime that once was led by Saddam Hussein, and in the aftermath, residents of the country have taken the streets to both protest coalition occupation and celebrate their liberation from the dictator.

When countries are at war, it's easy to think of everyone who lives or associate with the opposing country as enemies. That happened to Japanese citizens of the U.S. during World War II -- including "Star Trek" actor George Takei's family -- and even following Sept. 11, 2001, when people of Arab descent were rounded up by the U.S. government.

Eugene W. Roddenberry, the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, felt that his father always was against such broad labels for people. And he wanted to show that it should always be the individual first, group later. With the release for his documentary, "Trek Nation," with filmmaker Scott Colthorp and Atmosphere Pictures just months away, both recently talked to Airlock Alpha's Michael Hinman about how the new documentary on Star Trekdom will address those issues.

"Right now, while it's just hearsay and rumor, we think there are fans (of Star Trek) in Iraq," Roddenberry said. "The idea is that they are our 'enemy,' but these people are just different from us. We all have a positive view of the future, we all have a common view of the future, something that can really link us and allow us to progress together."

Roddenberry and Colthorp are putting together "Trek Nation" as a celebration of not only the Star Trek fans, but also of the philosophies expressed by the elder Roddenberry since the 1960s, until his death in 1991. Both have been around conventions over the last year interviewing fans and celebrities -- from both Star Trek and beyond -- trying to find out how the show, which spawned four spinoffs, an animated series and 10 motion pictures, affected them.

"Rod and I have talked about this, and we're living in a time similar to what his father was living in when he created the series," Colthorp said. "There are a lot of world issues at hand that I think should be a catalyst to get these interviews, to get some well-rounded takes on the fact that when the world is going through this, there can be helpful messages out there, positive messages out there."

Roddenberry said that any message that might be sent out from this documentary will be stronger than just the simple black-and-white messages released by the government and media.

"We're going way beyond making a peace statement," Roddenberry said. "I want to slap people on the hand and say that this isn't just about making friends, this is about working together for a better future. They need to get off their ass and accept that. Tolerance ... I think it's a stupid beginning, but it's got to be done. I'm looking so far beyond that, but tolerance is a first step."

While Star Trek could easily make huge statements about how the world as a whole could find better harmony, Colthorp said that personal impacts of the series can't be ignored either. One man who is featured in the trailer for the documentary, located at www.treknationdoc.com is Greyden Beyer, whose difficult childhood growing up in a carnival pushed him to the brink of self-destruction. However, it was through "Star Trek" that Beyer was able to find his way back.

"He was a kid that was never taught how to read, and basically had to make a living for himself," Colthorp said. "His parents basically left him in this carnival to survive on his own. Eventually, he was adopted, but he didn't trust his (adopted) parents because he learned at an early age that you had to fend for yourself."

It seemed that the only way that Beyer's parents were able to communicate with him was by having him watch "Star Trek."

"His parents discovered that he was really taking a favor to Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and if they could communicate with him the way Spock would communicate, they could get through to his mind and to his heart. And they did."

Colthorp said that "Star Trek" has affected him in the past as well.

"I believe in it," Colthorp said. "I feel like it changed my life. It's the only show that I ever watched regularly in college, and when it came on, I was there. I was a philosophy major, and I knew there was something there (with Star Trek) that celebrated humanity.

"It was almost a study of the human condition through this parable, through this television show, through this medium. It's very passive, but at the same time, it was exciting. It was one of the reasons why I got into the film arts."

Some interest seems to have disappeared from Star Trek over the years. Ratings for "Enterprise" -- the latest Star Trek series starring Scott Bakula -- on UPN seem to be on the slide, and the 10th Star Trek feature, "Nemesis," did the worst box office in franchise history. Roddenberry said while a lot of fans may want to blame Rick Berman for the troubles, there are other factors as well.

"They threw ('Star Trek: Nemesis') together fast," Roddenberry said. "The cast had been together for 15 or 16 years, but they brought in this whole new crew and a new director (Stuart Baird). The director made it a little tough on them, and they in turn made it tough on him. That cast ran the show, that cast could get away with whatever they wanted, and that was hard for them emotionally in some ways, because suddenly, they couldn't do it.

"Then, of course, no one really knows why 'Nemesis' did so poorly. I don't consider it too Star Trek, it was more like Star Trek on steroids. I thought it was good-action sci-fi, but it really didn't have the Gene Roddenberry philosophy, it didn't have the human side."

Roddenberry said he had a meeting with Berman recently, which was basically something informal that happened when the younger Roddenberry happened to be visiting the Paramount lot.

"I normally don't go to Paramount, but I knocked on his office door while I was there, and he was very cordial and invited me in," Roddenberry said. "We talked about the state of affairs of Star Trek, and he's understandably concerned. He's done a decent job of Star Trek. He really could've taken it to ('Buffy the Vampire Slayer') or ('Beverly Hills 90210'). He really hasn't destroyed it, in my opinion."

The documentary is being put together by Atmosphere Pictures, Roddenberry.com and Colthorp Films. It's scheduled to be released in January 2004, but Colthorp said there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. The crews will be visiting other convention sites as early as this weekend in Germany, and the filmmakers are still looking for fan stories through the Web site.

With this documentary getting under way, as well as a sequel from Roger Nygard for 1999's "Trekkies" documentary also in production, is Star Trek really dying? And if so, is there any hope for life left?

"I'm dying to coordinate fans," Roddenberry said, mentioning his father's and Bjo Trimble's work in helping to organizing fans to save the original "Star Trek" back in the 1960s. "I'm not talking about marching to Paramount. But if they really wanted to, they could get together, and if everyone really felt strongly about it, they could change (Star Trek) and see the power in it. Some people say that Paramount is a huge strong corporation, and it is. But if you put the fans together, they can change the show."

Michael Hinman is the news editor and founder of Airlock Alpha, based out of Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at michael@airlockalpha.com.

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