Star Trek

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."