The first-ever Star Trek Month, which will take place in September, is going to be honored by the Star Trek Fan Association after the group announced upcoming chats with "Star Trek" star William Shatner as well as Eugene W. Roddenberry, son of the late "Star Trek" creator, Gene Roddenberry.

Star Trek Month celebrates the birth of Star Trek, which premiered its first episode ever on NBC in September 1966. It has spawned one of the most popular and enduring entertainment franchises of all time that has included six television series, 10 feature films, and thousands of Web sites dedicated to the icon.

Shatner played Capt. James T. Kirk in more than 70 episodes of "Star Trek" as well as in seven feature films, ending with his character's death in 1994's "Star Trek Generations." Roddenberry has worked as a consultant for the Tribune Entertainment series "Earth: Final Conflict" as well as writing an episode, "Infection." He currently is running Roddenberry.com and is working on a Star Trek documentary called "Trek Nation," which more information is available here.

Shatner will be chatting with fans Sept. 3 at 1 p.m. ET. Roddenberry will be online Sept. 9 at 10 p.m. ET.

The month long celebration at the STFA will take place at the group's Web site and will include a charity auction, art gallery, trivia contests and several other chat sessions as well.

"I'm very pleased about the enthusiasm we've seen for Star Trek Month," said Mark Sickle, president of the STFA in a news release. "We wanted to do something that would commemorate Gene Roddenberry's vision while raising the awareness of the current state of the Star Trek franchiuse."

The group also has lined up guests such as Bjo Trimble of the original "Save Star Trek" campaign; Susan Sackett, a production associate for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" who also wrote the TNG episodes "The Game" and "Menage a Troi"; Dayton Ward, an author in the "Star Trek SCE" series; David George III, writer of the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Prime Factors"; Keith Decandido, author of several genre books; and Russ Haslage, founder of the International Federation of Trekkers.

The STFA was formed in December 2002 by Sickle, and serves as an unofficial fan organization formed as an outlet for Star Trek fans to voice their opinions about the direction of the Star Trek franchise under Viacom and Paramount Pictures management.

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