Star Trek Celebrates 50th Anniversary With New Stamps

Star Trekstarted its long journey into the final frontier in 1966 with the premiere of its original series, and to commemoratethe 50th anniversary of the franchise that went where no man has gone before, the U.S. Postal Service has unveiled four stamps dedicated to the cult sci-fiseries.

The four retro-inspired Forever stamps designed by Heads of State under the art direction of Antonio Alcal showcase the Starship Enterprise, the Starfleet insignia, a crewmember in a transporter as well as Spocks iconic Vulcan salute hand gesture. The base of the stamps will also feature the words Space the final frontier, taken from William Shatners opening lines as Captain Kirk on each Star Trek episode.

The new Star Trek stamps showcase four digital illustrations inspired by classic elements of the television program, the USPS said in a statement. Star Trek previously landed its own stamp as part of the USPS Celebrate the Century series in 1999. Arelease date for the 50th anniversary stamps wasnt announced.

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In other Trekkienews, the makers of Axanar the crowdfunded, independently producedStar Trek prequel responded to the copyright infringement suitfiled by Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios that could prevent the fan film from being made.

Like all fan films, Axanar is a love letter to a beloved franchise, producer Alec Peters said in a statement to The Wrap. For nearly 50 years, Star Treks devotees have been creating new Star Trek stories to share with fellow fans. Thats all were trying to do here.

While Axanar takes place in the Star Trek universe, it doesnt feature any of the franchises well-known characters, just the series mythology: Axanar takes place 21 years before the events of Where No Man Has Gone Before, the first Kirk episode of the original Star Trek. Axanar is the story of Garth of Izar, the legendary Starfleet captain who is Captain Kirks hero, the films site describes the prequel.

It is the Star Trek fans themselves who are most affected here, Peters continued, for by suing Axanar Productions to stop making our movie and collect so-called damages, CBS and Paramount are suing the very people who have enthusiastically maintained the universe created by Gene Roddenberry so many years ago.