Five years ago today, I started a podcasting adventure that’s taken me to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast… fifteen years ago today I registered the domain name TREKZONE.org… and today is the official opening of 1701NEWS.com.

MEDIA RELEASE

Live Long and Prosper: The Trekzone Plexus celebrates 15-year milestone with news site launch

This July, Australia’s first Star Trek fan site network – The Trekzone Plexus – will celebrate its 15 year anniversary by boldly going forth with an exciting expansion to its online footprint.

In an innovative addition to the network, 1701NEWS.com now stands as the new home of news across The Trekzone Plexus, featuring hot topics and fan-highlights of the series, the latest verified news from the next Star Trek movies and tv show, and the up-to-the-minute Trekzone Spotlight episodes.

1701NEWS.com complements the existing Trekzone Plexus online presence, which is comprised of the original TREKZONE.org website, an active presence on Facebook and Twitter, as well as the ever-popular Trekzone Spotlight YouTube series.

The Trekzone Plexus network was initiated in 2003 with the soft launch of TREKZONE.org as a high school IT project by the website’s editor-turned-Executive Producer of Spiral Media, Matt Miller.

15 years later, Australia’s foremost Star Trek fan website features an unassailable library of

synopses, reviews and screencaps from all 744 episodes in the Star Trek television franchise and an exceptional second screen device for true Trekkies to explore their passions even further – all without any ads.

Speaking of the addition of 1701NEWS.com to the network, Mr Miller expressed his excitement at the growth his passion project is experiencing.

“2018 has been a massive year of growth; not only has The Trekzone Spotlight gone weekly, but 1701NEWS.com experienced some fantastic numbers and coverage earlier this year at Supanova on the Gold Coast, reaching 100,000 viewers in just under 72 hours,”

“This is a passion project that I’ve been working on for most of my adult life, and I’m thrilled that the ratings continue to climb – especially as Once More With Feeling climbs towards 2,000 views in just under two days.”

July 2018 will also mark a milestone year for The Trekzone Spotlight – the network’s weekly

YouTube series that provides an insider’s look to science fiction series (especially Star Trek)

through showcase interviews with SciFi alumni and members of the scientific community and

discussions on the latest in discoveries and research.

Since launching five years ago in 2013, The Trekzone Spotlight has featured a myriad of prominent guests including MacGyver’s Richard Dean Anderson, Australia’s first astronaut – Dr Andy Thomas, and Rod Roddenberry – the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

Other notable episodes:

* The first “Trekzone Spotlight” with Dominic Keating.

* The final “SciFi Weekly” at Canberra’s Tidbinbilla Tracking Station.

* From There To Here: The Story of Star Trek Fan Productions, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

* Flying to Perth to meet Aaron Vanderkley.

* Meeting RAAF personnel who worked with my late father in air traffic control for a special ANZAC Day 2018 episode.

* Breaking the news that Gary O’Brien received a very generous donation to allow production of The Holy Core.