Join hosts Daphne and Wilsen (flying solo without El Professor Michael this week) as they boldly go where no podcast has gone before—into the lost corners of Star Trek fan history with Beam Me Up, Sulu, a documentary that unearths a fascinating piece of cinematic archaeology.
In 1985, at the height of Trek mania, George Takei—forever immortalized as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu—ventured into the California woods with a ragtag crew of student filmmakers to shoot Yorktown: A Time to Heal, a fan film that promised to give Sulu his own command. Then, the footage vanished. Poof. Gone like a malfunctioning transporter accident.
Fast forward nearly four decades, and directors Timour Gregory and Sasha Schneider accomplished what seemed impossible: they recovered the lost reels. But this isn't just a "found footage" story. The documentary weaves together the rediscovered film with powerful interviews from Star Trek luminaries including Alexander Siddig, Christina Chong, Garrett Wang, Ian Alexander, and Eugene Roddenberry (son of the Great Bird of the Galaxy himself).
What emerges is something far richer than fan service. The film explores how Takei's personal history—shaped by the Japanese American internment during World War II—intersects with Star Trek's utopian vision of "infinite diversity in infinite combinations." It traces the throughline from Takei's activism to the generations of Asian American and LGBTQ+ fans who found themselves reflected in Sulu's chair, proving that representation isn't just about seeing yourself on screen—it's about claiming your place in the future.
Set your phasers to "subscribe" and prepare for a conversation about lost histories, found families, and why Star Trek still matters.
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