It is yet another April Fool’s day and as seems to happen every year, there are a number of Star Trek-related pranks. Some are obvious jokes and some are just plausible enough that they get a few to believe. TrekMovie has curated a selection of the foolish for your enjoyment.
Takei ‘Runs’ For Congress
The prank that is getting the most buzz started late Friday night (California time) when Star Trek actor George Takei unleashed the following tweet, apparently announcing he was going to run for Congress.
Well, the cat’s out of the bag it seems. Let’s do this! #Takei2018 https://t.co/Wf7qvV1eXj
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 1, 2017
Takei has always been very politically active and so there was an element of believability to him running for Congress (he ran for Los Angeles City Council back in the 70s). The “announcement” was picked up by a number of outlets including TMZ, People Magazine and even The Hollywood Reporter, with some adding a bit of skepticism due to the day. Later in the morning Takei followed up with another tweet saying that #Takei2018 was all a joke (below). Takei’s April Fools joke ended up getting wide coverage in the media, with USA Today naming it one of their favorite gags of the day.
No, I’m not running for Congress. Happy 4/1!
But Jon Ossoff is on 4/18. Help him win at https://t.co/ctCcRiYcdL. Let’s flip Congress in ’18 pic.twitter.com/41uj6l3yt7
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 1, 2017
Mount Vernon Welcomes Klingons
A surprising Trek prank comes from George Washington’s Mount Vernon, which today added a “Klingon Visitation Guide” to their website, to help all those tourists from Qo’noS who want to plan their visit to the historical landmark.
The page includes this video tour (in Klingon), so that warriors can find out more about the birth of the nation’s first conqueror.
Paramount looking into vertical screens for next Star Trek?
TrekMovie also got into the game with a tweet this morning about how Paramount is considering filming the next Star Trek feature film in the new “Cinemá Vertécal” format.
Hearing Paramount is considering shooting next #StarTrek movie in new “Cinemá Vertécal” format for Millennial appeal https://t.co/YUQ8gIoT2h
— TrekMovie.com (@TrekMovie) April 1, 2017
Surprisingly, that tweet was taken seriously by a few, including some lashing out with angry tweets back about how Paramount is determined to ruin Star Trek by appealing to phone-obsessed youths. Full credit for the “Cinemá Vertécal” article goes to RPA Advertising, known for their April Fools promotions, such as this year’s Honda “emoji” horns.
r/StarTrek sold to CBS All Access + Redditors prank Garrett Wang
The Redditors over at r/startrek had some fun today by ‘selling’ the sub to CBS, who reskinned it with their branding and offered an all day “AMA” with Scott Bakula. Predictably, “Scott” wouldn’t answer any questions about Star Trek: Enterprise, only questions about NCIS: New Orleans.
Some of the more mischievous Redditors took things a step further, prompting people to “screw with Garrett Wang” on Twitter by sending him vague congratulatory notes. This little prank worked, as evidenced by this tweet from the Star Trek: Voyager star:
When you have absolutely no clue why people are congratulating you on April Fools Day. #SomethingAmiss pic.twitter.com/eoGhv4SgWo
— Garrett Wang (王 以 瞻) (@GarrettRWang) April 1, 2017
Worf sponsors new drink
The official Star Trek website had some fun announcing “Kahless Brand Warrior Energy Drink“, an “officially licensed” prune juice for warriors who want to stay regular.
StarTrek.com also “broke” the news that longtime Star Trek novel writing duo Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore were ending their partnership and that their bromance has been “on the rocks for years.”
That’s it for Star Trek and April Fool’s Day 2017. Check out more fun, viral and interesting bits of Trek on the web with our Great Links Category.
And here I was, hoping that the Harry Mudd casting was a joke.
Ha! Great list, but I wiah George Takei really would run for office!
George is a hate filled liberal. Just look at his FB page.
Yes, he is. There’s no way he would win any race. Such an angry, bitter man.