geekosystem

Like we'll wager a lot of you, we're getting pumped for a new Star Trek movie -- especially with the new trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness dropping today. We're really excited to see what characters from the show may get renewed leases on life in the fresh timeline they now have to play with. Through a history spanning six decades, there are plenty of characters in the Trek universe that we have come to love dearly as well as a few that we've come to loathe with all the strength in our black little hearts. Recently, we turned to Facebook -- on our page and our own walls -- to find out who the most reviled characters in Trek history were, and we've got them here for your perusal. Feel free to let us know how right or wrong we are in the comments, as it wouldn't be a Star Trek conversation without a nerd fight or two.

Want to do your distinctly nerdy good deed for the day? How about this: You can help save the bridge of the Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and you don't even have to engage saucer separation to do it. The remnants of the storied helm of the ship that played home to Picard, Riker, Data, Troi, and the never-ending antics of Wesley Crusher are currently clogging up the backyard of a dutiful Trekkie in Sherman Oaks, California. He's saved the bridge from being tossed on the heap and melted down as scrap metal, but that's only the first step. The bridge is trashed -- like, fight with the Borg trashed -- and he's looking for help to restore it to its former glory. That's where you come in.

Thanks to the remixing skills of Dan Bull, Data's poem "Ode to Spot" from Star Trek: The Next Generation has been transformed into a tight hip-hop track. Yes, it has been done before, but this is the best version yet. (via Topless Robot | MP3 download link)

The above photos of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain William T. Riker (actually two still frames from an animated GIF, reproduced after the jump) have been making their way around Tumblr lately. Among TNG fans, the inexplicable emergence of Riker's beard in Season Two of the series actually marked a pivotal moment in its history: An Urban Dictionary entry with 125 upvotes and 3 downvotes defines a Riker's beard as "The opposite of jump the shark, i.e. when a TV show goes from unspectacular/boring/outlandish to completely awesome. It references Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was unspectacular until season 2, when Commander Riker grew a beard. The show kicked ass from then on." (Another UD entry defines Riker Syndrome as when a person "only looks good with a beard.") The full story behind the iconic beard, which basically stemmed from TNG star Jonathan Frakes deciding he didn't feel like shaving anymore:

While we don't doubt his mastery of the storytelling arts, we're not sure how helpful LeVar Burton would be at a shuttle launch. Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, on the other hand...