Check out our live blogging coverage of the "Women of SciFi" convention in Plano, Texas below.

If you are near the Dallas Texas area this weekend (January 29 & 30, 2011) be sure to stop by the “Women Of Sci-Fi” convention that’s being held in Plano, a Dallas suburb. You will get the chance to see and hear a ton of great female actors from the sci-fi genre; including Star Trek’s own Nichelle Nichols (Uhura). If you aren’t in the area be sure to watch our site over the weekend because we’ll be there live blogging all the good stuff for you, so you won’t miss a thing.

This isn’t a Star Trek convention per se, but who could resist the amazing line up they have going. Chances are if you like Trek, then you dig other sci-fi shows too. Some of the other shows being represented at the con are; Battlestar Galactica, V, Firefly, Buck Rogers, Stargate, Stargate Universe, Smallville, and more.

Morena Baccarin, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff are among the actresses appearing at the upcoming Sci-Fi Expo celebrating “Women of Sci-Fi” in Plano, Texas. The two-day event will be Jan. 29-30 in the Plano Convention Center, 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway.

We reported earlier this week that Nichelle Nichols would be interviewed on the Tavis Smiley program and now it's available online for streaming. Nichelle was on the show to promote the upcoming PBS "Pioneers of Television" episode, airing January 18th. This new episode focuses on pioneering science fiction, not only featuring Nichelle, but The Shat & Leonard Nimoy to boot.

Nichelle Nichols did us all a favor on her Facebook Fan page (Nichelle Nichols Communications Page) today! She announced her upcoming appearance on PBS’s Tavis Smiley show. It looks like she’s recording the program tomorrow with scheduled runs this Wednesday the 12th and this Thursday the 13th.

Our local PBS station lists the first airing of Nichelle’s episode as Thursday, the 13th 12am, with several replays throughout Thursday afternoon and evening. Check your local listings to find out when it will air in your area. Here’s a link to the upcoming episode at the Tavis Smiley website.

I can’t imagine if we had missed the show. I think we would have cried. Thanks Nichelle for letting us all know!

Another Scifi / Star Trek con is heading to the Plano Center in Plano, TX. Called “Women of Sci-Fi” and presented by Scifi Expo the convention is set for the weekend of January 29/30th. Aptly named, the con will focus on Scifi actresses from all across the genre, including Star Trek's own Nichelle Nichols. If that isn't enough, our good friends Larry Nemecek & Daryl Frazetti will also be appearing / presenting at the con. No news yet on the presentation topics, but we'll let you know as soon as we get word from Larry and Daryl.

We're definitely looking forward to the show, Scifi Expo put on a fantastic con back in October with their Star Trek Fan days, which we covered extensively. If you're in the DFW area, be sure to swing by and if you can't make it, we'll be there with live coverage from the con

Check out the full guest list and details below.

Guests include:

Nichelle Nichols
Star Trek’s Uhura! Other credits include Heroes, and countless TV voice work. Autograph: $30, Photo-Op: $TBD.

It would seem that December is rife with Star Trek birthdays. Today is the birthday of our lovely Lt. Uhura, Star Trek's own Nichelle Nichols. Before joining the crew of the Enterprise in 1966, Nichelle was an accomplished theatrical actress and singer, touring with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. As we reported earlier this year, she originally saw "Star Trek" as a way to further her career on Broadway.

"It was rather interesting to me to be cast on the show, because I came up in musical theater," Nichelle said. "And somehow I was, like, really on my way to break through and do all of the things that I really wanted to do on Broadway. And I took 'Star Trek' because I thought it would be a nice adjunct to my resume and I'd get to Broadway quicker and as a star. And, I still think that way, but 'Star Trek' interrupted my career."

"I kind of got stuck there," She said. "As a matter of fact, I even tried to leave after the first season, because I thought, 'Oh, this is going nowhere for me."

The Hollywood Xpo is quickly approaching and it's set to launch with a bang. Friday October 15th, the con ends it's first day with a grand gala event called the The Hollywood Legacy Awards. The banquet and awards ceremony starts at 7pm and is honoring Star Trek's own Nichelle Nichols & Apollo XI astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

"The life she's led has changed the world for the better," says Hollywood Xpo producer Sky Conway. "It's a much different place from when Nichelle was walking on to film `Star Trek' and she had the security guard spitting on her, telling her she couldn't park in the lot all because of her skin color."

"And it's because of television, and in particular `Star Trek,' that helped change people's attitudes," he says. "It's amazing."

Growing up in the 80's, my first introduction to Star Trek was the Original Series movies, starting with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". I guess that really could be considered the late, late 70's, but I digress. One of my fondest memories, from that time, was seeing Nichelle Nichols for the first time as Lt. Uhura. She was one of the very first women I'd seen in any kind of authoritative role other than my mother. From then on out, Nichelle & Uhura have been an influence on my life and how I see and perceive women & the world. Interestingly enough, Nichelle saw Star Trek as a way to further her career on Broadway. She had no idea of the ride she was in for, or how she would help shape the 20th century and beyond.

In an interview with Desertnews.com, Nichelle recalls her early days in Trek and how she thought the show would be a "nice adjunct to my résumé."

At the recent Comic-con in Anaheim, Nichelle Nichols talked about the first meeting with her Star Trek XI Counterpart Zoe Saldana. On the set of J.J. Abrams's "Star Trek", Saldana was not scheduled for the day when Nichelle was invited to visit, so J.J. called Zoe back for the chance meeting.