fbpx

Star Trek Exhibition Review

Star Trek Beyond
I recently got myself an Apple Watch (bear with me it’s relevant) and my new watch as well as telling the time has a fitness app on it; it monitors my activity and sets me daily goals for fitness etc. The point being that if I sit for fifty minutes without standing up and moving, it beeps and lays a digital guilt trip on me.That got me thinking; fifty minutes is the average length of a Star Trek episode so I wondered just how long I had spent over the years as an inactive lump on my sofa watching the adventures of the Enterprise and the various spin-offs and how many times my watch would have bleeped me into reluctant activity: After totting up the various incarnations of Trek I’ve watched, it made for disturbing reading…

The total amount of episodes and movies comes to 738, which in real time amounts to thirty days, it would take a month if I watched solidly without sleep (which means my watch would have worn itself out attempting to jolt me into action). It turns out I may not be a fan of exercise but I am somewhat of a Star Trek fan, so the prospect of spending a Trekkie-day hitting Blackpool’s new Star Trek exhibition was enough to get me off the sofa and stumbling into the sunlight.

The Blackpool Star Trek Exhibition is situated on the golden mile, in the same spot that has housed over the years, among others, a dinosaur exhibition and the late lamented Doctor Who exhibition; it is a spot that many a geek has visited, so housing a Star Trek exhibition there seems like a sound proposition.

It’s 50-years since Star Trek first graced our screens and the exhibition celebrates this milestone with a huge array of props and costumes from the various shows and movies from the half century of boldly going where no man (or one) has gone before.

The first thing that hits you as you enter the exhibition  is that there has been some money thrown at it; none of the ‘knock it together’ or ‘it’ll do’ attitude that often graces Blackpool’s seasonal attractions. Strong professional looking environments are created for your immersive pleasure; Enterprise corridors, holo-decks and the iconic bridge among others are there for you to wander about and take selfies in, it’s a little slice of geek heaven.

The staff are highly attentive to the visitor from the get go to the let go. Instructions on how to access the digital aspects of the exhibition and help downloading the exhibition app duly given. The app is a great extra for the experience, holding your phone to wall panels brings a virtual tour guide to life on your screen and this gives you a personal, much richer visit as the little digital Star Trek officer takes you into much further detail about the many exhibits on show.

The physical, in-the-real-world staff are great too, knowledgeable enough for the hardcore fan to converse with, yet discreet enough for the casual viewer to not be bombarded with facts. You get the feeling that this is the dream job for a fan of the show and they walk the corridors in costume with a pride in both their roles and the exhibition itself.

Making up the main bulk of the exhibition are costumes from the various shows; dozens of Klingon, Vulkan and crew uniforms create a walk of fame for the far future fashion guru, it does seem that aliens like their chunky knit-ware and humans are far too fond of elasticated plush nylon when they head out into space.

Control panels, photon torpedoes, phasers, communicators, weird spikey axe/swords, they are all here on show. The fans will delight in seeing a lump of pink Perspex and tell you which episode it was used to translate the Andorian ambassador’s surrender terms, while the casual viewer will enjoy seeing the iconic flip top communicator and phaser gun. There really is something for all levels of Star Trek visitor. I particularly liked the small scaled shuttle craft which was signed by dozens of cast members from all of the various shows; you could spend an hour just reading that alone.

With the chance to have a video of you being transported or sitting in the Captain’s chair you can gather many a free memento, but if you want something a bit more touchable, there is a great little shop at the end of the exhibition (it’s a little on the pricey side but can you really resist a bottle opener in the shape of the Enterprise? I thought not) – take a bit of extra cash as you will want to buy it all.

If you are a fan or just a casual viewer the Star Trek Exhibition is excellent fun, a great way to spend a couple of hours, and you should ‘MAKE IT SO—METHING’ you do this season!

The Star Trek Exhibition is situated on the Golden Mile near Central Pier and is open daily from 10am till November so assemble your away team and make the trek.

Children aged 10 and under go free, there are family tickets and concessions available and a standard adult tickets costs £12.50 when booked online.

Reclaim Blackpool - Mapping Sexual Harrasment
  • Show Comments (1)

  • Stewart French

    Great article. Can’t wait to visit. I remember the old Doctor Who Exhibition scaring the bejesus out of me when I was little 🙂

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

comment *

  • name *

  • email *

  • website *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You May Also Like

Blackpool’s Regent Cinema Classic Film Programme Continues

Blackpool’s Regent Cinema classic film programme continues with movies shown regularly on Friday evenings ...

Theatre Review: The Boy at The Back of the Class

A heartwarming story of a refugee boy finding his place in an English classroom ...

Review: Park Life

Throughout April I’ve been following and shooting a fantastic community project at Highfield Road ...