Star Trek stuff to boldly go... to the auction block

A vast trove of memorabilia from the iconic Star Trek franchise will be auctioned this fallto celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original TV series.

Christie's auction house announced the sale in New York on Thursday, calling the items an "unprecedented collection" and praising the franchise as "a cornerstone of American popular culture for 40 years."

The auction Oct. 5 to 7 will offer costumes, props, set pieces and detailed models of the various versions of the Enterprise spacecraft and other alien ships, and stations from all the Star Trek TV series and films.

Christie's is partnering with CBS Paramount, which is pulling more than 1,000 lots of material from its archives for the auction block.

Among the highlights are:

• A replica of Capt. James Kirk's chair from the original Star Trek TV series, created for the Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations."
• A model of the starship Enterprise-Aused in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
• Uniform costumes worn by the cast of the original Star Trek TV series and others from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Before the October sale, the lots will be exhibited at Christie's locations in New York, London and Los Angeles, as well as at Seattle's Experience Music Project and at several Star Trek conventions.

Considered one of Hollywood's most enduring franchises, Star Trek has faltered in recent years. The last film, Star Trek: Nemesis, met a poor reception in 2002, and the most recent TV series, Enterprise, was cancelled in 2005 because of declining ratings.

However, hope for a revival emerged last month when popular TV and film director J.J. Abrams signed on to helm an 11th Star Trek movie.

Abrams, who most recently directed Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III, is also the creator of TV hits Lost, Alias and Felicity.