Vancouver: Mainframe Entertainment of Vancouver has acquired the rights to Gene Roddenberry’s Starship, an original concept by the creator of Star Trek.

Starship will initially be produced as a 3D cgi-animated television series, with Mainframe retaining ancillary rights to exploit the series in all media.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry and John Semper will serve as the series’ executive producers as will Mainframe’s ceo Christopher Brough and president Ian Pearson.

Starship is about a vast spaceship that is launched to explore scientifically the reaches of the galaxy.

Preproduction activities including animation tests, character modeling and production design have begun at Mainframe’s animation studios. The series will begin production in mid-1999.