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SAN DIEGO — George Takei is reflecting on 60 years of living long and prospering.The actor, 89, sat down with cast members from throughout the "Star Trek" universe during a San Diego Comic-Con panel on July 25 to discuss the sci-fi franchise's 60th anniversary. The original "Star Trek" show, in which Takei starred as Hikaru Sulu, premiered in 1966."It's always wonderful to have people come up to you and say, 'Congratulations,' or 'Happy 60th.' It makes me feel so young! I'm way older than 60," he joked.Takei described it as an "extraordinary phenomenon" that "Star Trek" has endured for six decades, noting the original show was "low rated when we first started" and canceled after three seasons. But it has lived on, he said, because "of all of the people like you and your parents and your grandparents, because of their intelligence and their sensitivity and their vision."Takei was joined on the Comic-Con panel by Michael Dorn ("Star Trek: The Next Generation"), Robert Picardo ("Star Trek: Voyager"), Cirroc Lofton ( "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), Dominic Keating ("Star Trek: Enterprise"), Doug Jones ( "Star Trek: Discovery"), Michelle Hurd ("Star Trek: Picard"), Jerry O'Connell ("Star Trek: Lower Decks"), Christina Chong ("Star Trek: Strange New Worlds"), and Karim Diané ("Star Trek: Starfleet Academy").Several of the panelists expressed how blown away they were to be sitting alongside Takei. O'Connell joked he was "bummed because I actually paid money at a con to get George's autograph, so I could have saved myself quite a bit of money!"In an emotional moment, Hurd got choked up about how much of an "honor" it was to be "sitting here next to" Takei and reflected on how important it was to see herself represented on screen in Nichelle Nichols' Uhura from the original "Star Trek" series."['Star Trek' is] what we want this world to be. It's the hope for tomorrow. It's talking about diversity, equity and inclusion, those beautiful three words," she said. "I'm so grateful to be a part of this family. … Let's lean into love, you guys."Takei thanked the rest of the panel for keeping "Star Trek" alive, calling them his "children and grandchildren," and said the franchise has always thrived on diversity going back to the original show."I look different from her, and she looks different from him, but not just that. It's the background, it's the history, it's what differences we bring, other than the visual," he said. "We have a whole history that's shaped our vantage point on life, how we see life. It's recognizing that, amongst all of us, coming together and realizing our strength is in our working together."
