The Sci-Fi Cast

Over the past two weeks, three giants of science fiction have bravely gone where few have gone before – onto Twitter. First on the scene was LeVar Burton who began tweeting in earnest around January 5th and who amassed over 18,000 followers seemingly overnight. Sci-Fi fans of course know LeVar as the Commander Geordi LaForge from Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as the director of fan favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Like the rest of the nation, I first was introduced to LeVar thanks to his Emmy nominated role of Kunta Kinte in 1977’s touchstone TV event, Roots. I’ve watched his career with interest and am gratified to see him connecting with fans through my favorite social networking site, Twitter.

Just this past week LeVar managed to convince friend and fellow Next Generation star, Brent Spiner to also sign up for a Twitter account and the results have been wonderful. Brent caught onto Twitter and it’s quirky penchant for one-liners in no time flat. I can already tell he’s going to be a joy to follow as he relays information about his latest projects like Dreamland and settles bets between fans. We’re SO glad to have you Brent!

Last but by no means least onto the Twitter scene is George Takei. George is known to Star Trek fans everywhere as Captain Sulu from the Original Series, but has made a resurgence in recent years both as a regular on The Howard Stern Show and in the role of Kaito Nakamura, father to the time-bending Hiro Nakamura on NBC’s Heroes. George has been a favorite of mine since I first saw him swashing his buckle in TOS episode “The Naked Time”. When I received the email notification that George Takei started following me on Twitter, the geek in me actually let out a little yell. Although George is just getting started, I look forward to whatever he decides to tweet in the weeks ahead.

All three of these talented actors have decided to take a bold step and share some aspect of their lives with all of us via Twitter. Speaking as one of their biggest fans, it’s wonderful to be able to read and interact with people that influenced me so much while growing up. Hopefully they’ll be able to convince more of their fellow Trek cast mates to join the Twitterverse as well. In the meantime, from all of us to all of you, welcome aboard gentlemen, live long and prosper!

Follow LeVar Burton on twitter @levarburon

Follow Brent Spiner on twitter @brentspiner

Follow George Takei on twitter @georgetakei

Don’t forget to follow The Sci-Fi Cast on Twitter for the latest geeky info @scificast

Update: Yes, we realize that Wil Wheaton preceeded them all. We didn’t forget about you, Wil!