THE DREX FILES: Behind the scenes of TREK

Doug Drexler was a big Trekkie as a kid, and when he grew up he worked behind the scenes of the Star Trek franchise for years, first doing special effects makeup and later designing a host of iconic ships and props for the various movies and TV series.

You would think he would've become jaded about all things Roddenberry after years of dealing with actors being cranky about their rubber foreheads and producers ordering last-minute changes to his starship designs, but Drexler - bless his heart - is still a huge Trek nerd.

On his Drex Files blog, Drexler offers up great stuff from his files - gorgeous concept art, revealing behind-the-scenes anecdotes and photos, and plenty more besides. He has a sometimes raunchy sense of humor, resulting in cringe-worthy but funny stories like this little number about how they turned a very patient male actor into the first, genderless incarnation of Commander Data's daughter Lal. You'll never see that episode again without thinking of the ordeal of poor Leonard Crofoot. Talk about suffering for your art!

Drexler writes about his other interests (including vintage comic strips) and he's worked on many other movies and TV shows, but his heart obviously belongs to Trek. If you're half the Trekkie he is, you'll want to bookmark the heck out of his blog.

Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.