Twenty Years Later, Gay Themed 'Star Trek' Episode Will Finally Be Screened

Last March, the team of fans behind Star Trek Phase II began producing "Blood and Fire" a gay-themed script originally written for The Next Generation in 1988 by "The Trouble With Tribbles" writer David Gerrold. The story would have included the franchise's first gay couple and dealt with a deadly disease that worked as an analogy to AIDS, but the episode never was filmed. The gay couple -- who were mostly written as good friends and only referred to as a couple in a couple lines -- stirred debates among TNG staff to the point that it was deemed easier just not to bother with the episode.

Tomorrow evening, "Blood and Fire" will finally be screened by an audience. Fans at the Shore Leave 30 sci-fi convention will get to screen a "smooth cut" -- which will be missing the final special effects.

This version of "Blood and Fire" has changed a bit from the original script. The era of the script has been pushed back since Phase II is set on the "Classic" enterprise with new actors playing the familiar characters and one of the gay characters is the nephew of Capt. James T. Kirk, Peter. Also, the couple -- who's relationship status was only confirmed when someone asks "How long have you been together?" in the original script -- get to behave a little more like a couple this time around.

There's no word on when the final cut for the two "Blood and Fire" episode will be available for a wider audience to download and view, but we'll keep our ears for news on that.