‘Star Trek’ memories, as well as the memorabilia

Of course “Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier” promises to boldly go where no documentary has gone before.

The two-hour special, airing at 9 tonight on the History Channel, tracks the painstaking preparations leading up to the three-day 40th-anniversary auction of official “Star Trek” memorabilia by Christie’s in New York last October.

More than 1,000 items -- including costumes, props and starship models -- sold for $7.1 million. Scenes of tense bidding and pure joy from some successful bidders are included in the program, though the identity of the purchaser of a 78-inch-long model of Starship Enterprise-D is not revealed. The model sold for $576,000.

With the auction as a backdrop, the program weaves in “Star Trek” clips, mostly from the various TV series (excluding the animated version) with recollections from about two dozen people who worked in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

“Nearly everyone has come across ‘Star Trek’ in one shape or form,” said Beth Dietrich Segarra, executive producer of the documentary.

Terms such as Klingon, Vulcan and warp factor one, plus phrases such as “Beam me up, Scotty, there’s no intelligent life down here” and “Energize me,” are well-known throughout our culture, she said.

Among those sharing insights are actors Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Nichelle Nichols, Patrick Stewart and George Takei. Leonard Nimoy hosts.

The people involved in making “Star Trek,” Dietrich Segarra said, “know that they are part of something bigger than themselves. We were pleased to have so many participate.”

Two major stars, however, are missing: William Shatner and Scott Bakula, who were contacted but unable to take part because of scheduling conflicts, she said.

The “Star Trek” franchise, she said, reflects the vision of its creator, the late Gene Roddenberry, “that our planet had overcome problems of those days [the series premiered in 1966], and it was a very hopeful look to the future.”