Star Trek

No one asked Bill Nye about his "Star Trek" pal's messy divorce ... or about Nye's ongoing battle with his former fiancée -- but the Science Guy couldn't wait to tell us all about it.

You'll recall ... Nye ended up in the middle of "Star Trek Voyager" star Robert Picardo's divorce -- because Picardo's estranged wife Linda claimed he and Nye were having an affair.

Nye himself has been fighting with his former flame, Blair Tindall, over $57,000 she owes him stemming from their split in 2006.

Well, according to Nye ... there's been a major development in this war of exes.

Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura in the '60s TV version of "Star Trek," did better on spaceships than planes because her travelling companion was busted at LAX after meth fell out of his suitcase ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We've learned the 81-year-old actress was with a male companion in his 20's at the American Airlines terminal. We're told he had attached his luggage to hers and her name tags were on his bags.

Here's the rub: Law enforcement sources tell us, his suitcase fell to the ground, opened and a bag of meth and drug scales spilled out.

The guy was arrested for drug possession. The unsuspecting Nichols was in the clear and allowed to make her flight.

Robert Picardo -- who played The Doctor on "Star Trek: Voyager" -- got more fireworks than he bargained for July 4 ... cops are investigating a domestic violence incident at his home.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... cops went to Picardo's residence Friday night after someone in the house called 911 ... then hung up. We're told officers interviewed Picardo and his wife, Linda Pawlik ... who claimed he hurt her during a fight ... he denied it and no arrests were made.

Picardo filed for divorce from Pawlik back in 2012 but the case went nowhere until May ... when Picardo hired a new lawyer.

There was no way in the world "Star Trek" writer Brannon Braga would dare pick sides in the eternal nerd debate of who was the better "Trek" captain between James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard ... oh wait, YES HE DID!!!

Our photog caught up with Braga in New York City on Wednesday night and popped the question, 'cause let's face it ... dude's qualified. Braga's written for the TV shows ... "Next Generation," "Voyager," "Enterprise" ... and two of the Star Trek movies!

Rosario Dawson must be tired ... 'cause she's running around the heads of millions of Trekkies now -- after showing off her Klingon language skills.

Yes, it's an actual thing ... and yes, we're about to tell a story in the native tongue of those beautiful bastards (subtitles included).

It was only one word, but noted "Star Trek" fan Rosario Dawson busted out a little Klingon for us last night ... thus becoming the hottest woman to do so in recorded history.

Dawson has never appeared in a Trek movie, but is famous for being a super fan. Her IMDB profile even refers to her as "a huge fan of the Star Trek franchise, and even speaks broken Klingon language."

Just ask Han Solo -- or any other intergalactic smuggler you know -- "hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side" ... and now you can own the one Harrison Ford used a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Profiles in History, the auction company from the SyFy show "Hollywood Treasure" ... is putting Han's piece on the auction block -- it's the one he used in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi."

And it's not just "Star Wars" stuff collectors will be able to bid on, come Dec. 21. Other highlights include:

- a Hoverboard from "Back to the Future II"
- Michael Keaton's batsuit from "Batman"
- used Wilson from "Castaway"
- a Golden ticket from "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory"
- LeVar Burton's cool visor glasses from the "Star Trek" flicks.

Unlike the rest of the nerd universe, Captain Kirk (aka William Shatner) isn't offended that J.J. Abrams is directing the new "Star Wars" AND "Star Trek" flicks at the same time -- in fact, he thinks it's "wonderful."

There's been a lot of backlash over Abrams' dual directing roles, particularly because of the rivalry among "Star Wars" fans and Trekkies ... who believe Abrams' involvement in both projects represents some kind of conflict of interest.

But Shatner's different -- he says he's a huge Abrams fan and can't wait to see the movies.

LeVar Burton says he's deeply conflicted about the new "Star Trek" movie ... telling TMZ there's something missing from the flick ... something extremely important.

Burton -- who famously starred in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" from 1987 to 1994 -- says he's already seen J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek Into Darkness" TWO TIMES ... but that doesn't mean he approves.

"At the end of the movie, I really care about what happens to the characters ... but I'm pretty much missing Gene Roddenberry in J.J.'s interpretation ... and at the end of the day, that's just not OK for me."

For all you non-Trekkies out there ... Gene created "Star Trek" back in the '60s and was heavily involved in the storytelling until his death in 1991.

Michael Dorn is best known for playing Lieutenant Worf -- the first Klingon main character -- in the sci-fi television show "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Guess what he looks like now!

Chris Pine (Captain Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Mr. Spock) had a stardate at the premiere of "Star Trek Into Darkness" in Hollywood this week.

So we gotta ask ...

Brent Spiner (aka Data from "Star Trek") is the self-proclaimed Lance Armstrong of traffic school --telling TMZ, he's only ever done the online version ... but he cheated the whole way through.

Spiner was out in Malibu this week when he gave us the full rundown -- and we gotta say, the way he pulled off the job is pretty devious.

For those interested (shame on you) the video includes Spiner's step-by-step traffic school cheating guide.

Our photog called Spiner out for being a dirty con artist -- but the actor played coy, replying, "I didn't know that was cheating. I'm very much like Lance Armstrong in that I have not yet looked up the definition of cheating."