Today in Star Trek future history is "First Contact Day," the day in which Star Trek fans (pre)remember the future meeting of humans and Vulcans. To celebrate TrekMovie.com will be hosting an online viewing party of Star Trek: First Contact. Others are also celebrating including Star Trek stars, Star Trek Online and the official Trek store. Details on all the FCD fun below.
The fateful moment
Regardless of your timeline, on April 5th, 2063 Dr. Zefram Cochrane is to became the first man to break the warp barrier (with a little help from the crew of the NCC-1701E), which will catch the notice of some passing Vulcans who initiate the ‘first contact’ between humans and aliens…and the beginnings of the United Federation of Planets and all that came with it.
The following scene from Star Trek First Contact is one of the more powerful in all Trek film history, culminating the best of the TNG era films. The moment of Humans and Vulcans meeting for the first time, in friendship, you see in an instant the entirety of Gene Roddenberry’s message of a humanity that will eventually (after many struggles) come together into an optimistic future.
Learn more about the ‘First Contact’ (links from our friends at Memory Alpha)
TrekMovie First Contact Live Tweeting Online Watch Party Tonight
TrekMovie.com staffers will be celebrating First Contact Day by watching Star Trek: First Contact tonight. The event kicks off at 8PM Eastern (5PM Pacific). We will be synchronizing our watching of Star Trek: First Contact and chatting on Twitter using the hashtag #STFCParty. Everyone is welcome to join in. You can follow along on Twitter or via a "CoverItLive" streaming chat which will be posted here at TrekMovie shortly before the event. During the event there will also be a trivia contest with prizes! So come join us.
The TrekMovie.com viewing party is BYO copy of "First Contact"
MORE CELEBRATIONS
Trek Stars Tweet First Contact
Star Trek’s first Kirk and Spock have acknowledged the importance of this day on Twitter.
First Contact Event in Star Trek Online
The massive multiplayer (and now free-to-play) game Star Trek Online is celebrating First Contact Day with a special event. The event kicks off at 10 AM PST today and runs until April 9th (10 AM PST). Here are the details posted at the official site.
During this event, you’ll be able to visit one of the Advanced Starship Design Bureau research facilities at Utopia Planitia, in orbit over Mars. While there, have a chat with some of the bridge officers of the Enterprise-F, which is home for a bit of testing and system recalibration. After you meet the crew, pick up your own replica of the Phoenix, humanity’s first warp-capable ship, as a deployable non-combat space craft. Once the event ends, the Enterprise will be warping off to new missions, so make sure you visit before she leaves.
The new Utopia Planitia research facility is also joining our list of Foundry maps, so you’ll be able to include it in your user-created missions!
First Contact Day takes place in the Vulcan sector of the Sirius Sector Block, at the Sol system. Hail Commander Winters to accept the First Contact Day mission that will reward you with your Phoenix non-combat pet. First Contact Day is for Federation characters only – but KDF characters will be busy with their new mission, Alpha!
You can have your own Phoenix in Star Trek Online
First Contact Day Sale at Official Star Trek Store
To celebrate First Contact Day, CBS Consumer Products is offering special 20% off deals and new products at the StarTrek.com store. These include special First Contact T-Shirts for $19.99 All items are available HERE.
First Contact sale at official Star Trek Store
How will you celebrate First Contact Day?
First Comment Day?
Wow – #1 at last! Happy FC Day to all!
oops – third time I’ve missed
Only 51 more years!
Hey, Star Trek got a few predictions right, such as the date of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Well, 51 years to go! See you at the party! Dibs on the tranya!
Well, I guess I know what I’m watching later after work!
That scene when the Vulcan meets Zefram Cochrane really sums up what “Star Trek” is all about, at least for me anyway. The music is beautiful too.
I’m going to listen to the awesome new CD that just arrived!
Happy First Contact Day from Canada – and boy do those t-shirts look horrible. Shameless franchising by Startrek.com
Shameless franchising by Startrek.com.
At least someone’s putting out merchandise. Where’s Paramount???
Happy First Contact Day. Any of the ladies want to come over and celebrate?
Anthony,
You should post the “In a Mirror Darkly” version as well for those of us who catch “Trekmovie” here in the Empire.
Well, The Empire State, anyway.
Dang, I wish could do the live twitter event, but I already committed to going out tonight.
Anyway, Happy First Contact Day!
For whatever its worth, I’ll watch the movie tomorrow. Does that count? Can I still retain my Trekkie cred?
The sales pitch blurb for the t-shirts in the Official Star Trek Store only makes a reference to first contact with the Borg:
“Prepare yourself for first contact with the Borg. This T-shirt commemorates 2063 with an eye-catching Vulcan hand sign design that will let you identity yourself with your division: Command – Gold; Engineering – Red; Science – Blue.”
C’mon, get it right!
2,3 –
then maybe you should stop trying…? kind of a silly thing isn’t it?
5 –
i got your back…
What did #4 SIsko mean about Trek predicting the date of the Apollo 11 landing? Did an episode of TOS mention it and I’ve never realized it was before the fact?
LLAP
PALL
Does that constitute “talking” to myself? Please don’t ban me for sock-puppeting.
“First Contact” – Awesome movie. My favorite scene is the one in which Sirtis/Troi falls off her chair drunk while Frakes/Riker watches and is barely able to contain himself and stay in character.
Happy First Contact Day, everyone. I wonder how long it will take for Hallmark to catch on.
LLAP
Happy First Contact Day!
I admit, I didn’t like the movie. But that won’t stop me from watching it again tonight (even though it’s on VHS and is a b**ch to hook up).
And now waiting for Captain Picard Day… :P
#14
From Memory Alpha:
The reference to Apollo 11 in “Tomorrow is Yesterday” is an oblique one – a radio report referring to the launch of the first moon landing mission on “Wednesday”. Despite being written over two years prior, the reference coincidentally gives the same launch day as actually occurred, with the launch time only off by seven hours.
Happy First Contact Day everyone.
Since today is Thursday and there is a new Big Bang Theory tonight. They should have made a First Contact Show. It would have been great.
I say First Contact was the best of all the Trekmovies. Sorry JJ.
yes im one star trek online, i got to go to utopia planitia! It was cool, the enterprise F crew were helpfull giving cool facts. My pet Phoenix is so cool too! Im having a star trek first contact party at space dock! Please if u are on STO come and party, only for Fed characters, sorry KDF people. The party is at when ever the 5 april to 9 april! PLEASE COME!
From STO name: Panasonic
Zefram Cochrane is born 2013, according to the First Contact novelization
Happy First Contact to all humans and aliens.
Happy First Contact Day! The best fake holiday ever made! :D
@23 Kinda like Old Elvis and Young Elvis… some people prefer Young Zefrem (portrayed by Corbett in TOS Metamorphosis — appropriately named) and some people prefer old radiation-damaged Zefrem (Cromwell). Crusher must have injected Zef with something that helped him get through for so long….
.
The poor Preserver-resettled humans at Alpha Centauri. All they get is Second Contact. So sad. Don’t forget the Centaurans!
Happy First Contact Day to all
For the Empire. This is First Conquer Day. The Day we first met and Conquered the Vulcan’s. Long Live the Empire!!!!
Happy First Contact Day to all of those in the Federation.
Happy First Contact Day from the Bajoran Sector!! :-)
Hoping I will live to see First Contact day. I’ll be 89 & somehow feel I’ll be disappointed when the Vulcans don’t show up but still hope to make it that long.
Happy First Contact to all!
@ 27
Long Live the Empire !!!
today is a day we Terran unite and know that soon we will conquer the stars and make the galaxy ours !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-DEDyv-E8I
Very nice.
Great movie! Saw it opening weekend with friends, then a week later with different friends!!
Love the Goldsmith score!!!
And such a great job by Stewart!!
Gimmee a break. Corny!
Well, if you still frame the movie and see a 96 yr old guy watching the launch of the Phoenix with a big pair of binoculars? That’s ME in the future….
;-P
Happy FCD to all the peoples of Terra :D
Well now, something cool to celebrate.
#30. I hear by Promote you to the rank of Captian. Long Live the Empire.
@ 31. Irishtrekkie
lol
When The GOP gets First Contact,…I’m not trolling just sayin
I’ll be a spry 91 on that day–hope I make it!
Happy (belated) First Contact Day, everyone!
The live twitter thing was fun, I’m glad I managed to participate. I missed the trivia questions by a few seconds, but at least I sparked a mini-debate on the borg queen.
When are we doing another live Trek-Twitter viewing? I’m in there like swimwear!
I can’t watch that scene without coming to tears.
Partially because the score and the knowledge of what the moment will lead to is definitely moving, partially because I know it’s only a movie and I so desperately want it to be otherwise, for my son and his kids sake.
I hated the drunkin clown version of Dr. Zefram Cochrane. It was too over the top & not believable too me.
How come only Nimoy and Quinto managed to wear the Vulcan hairdo without it looking like a Moe Howard wig?
44. Jack: I think it was because Quinto and Nimoy never wore a wig: it was their real hair. Most other actors playing Vulcans wore a wig, which gave that Moe-look.
We obviously did not have the Eugenics Wars in the 1990’s, and First Contact Day also implies most of our kids are going to die in WWIII coming up in a couple of decades, so please excuse me if I sit this celebration out. :-)
46. lol.
“We obviously did not have the Eugenics Wars in the 1990’s”
The rise of Brad and Angelina may suggest it’s happened and we haven’t realized it yet.
45, Yep, agreed. I just wish they’d come up with better Vulcan wigs. Even the Vulcan/Romulan extras and Sarek etc. looked okay in TOS. The TNG Romulan/Vulcan wigs were pretty awful (as was the idea that all Vulcans must look completely identical). Trek ’09 wasn’t too bad.
Great Movie.. Great cast! I am sad they did not make more movies…
48. Good point. Sarek, Stonn, Surek, etc., on TOS all looked fine with their real hair as a the standard Vulcan ‘do. The wigs from the TNG era were beyond stupid. The same goes for the women. I never understood why TNG-era Vulcan women had the same hair as the men, when in TOS-era they had long hair. It is not logical.