I've been a big-time Trekkie since I was a little boy. I was way too young for the original series, as it came out twenty years before I was born. When I was growing up, Star Trek: The Next Generation was coming to an end, and Deep Space Nine and Voyager were going on. I watched the original films many times, and owned a few Star Trek novels. I really want to own the complete Genesis Wave saga. I own one of the novels, got to read another thanks to the library. I also watched the new Kelvin-verse films with my dad. We enjoyed them, and every time we go watch a movie and we end up enjoying them, he'll always say, "Not as good as Star Trek."
I got into it thanks to my dad, who was a Trekkie himself. My earliest memory of Star Trek was watching The Next Generation with him. The series ended when I was a boy, but I would get to watch it for many years thanks to syndication. It seemed to be that I never failed to find it on TV. I also did enjoy DS9 quite a bit. And thanks to Netflix, I can enjoy them again and again.
I have to admit, I was surprised when I found it that this Anniversary was coming. Has it been fifty years already? Wow. That's amazing. It really is incredible that this franchise has been going on for so long. So many incarnations. So many stories.
What do I love about the franchise? Well, mainly I always loved the sheer adventure of it. The Starship Enterprise traveling around the universe, encountering strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations, boldly going where no one has gone before. I loved seeing what the various crews would get up to, who they'd meet, the species they'd encounter and fight with, make peace with. Star Trek...was fun. That's what it was to me. A fun show.
As I have grown older, I became more aware of the message the late Gene Roddenberry was trying to send with Star Trek: That humanity could achieve great things, that if we overcame our differences, we could reach the stars, and create a better world. I really liked the generally positive vibe about Trek. That humanity was better than we think. That's what I love about Trek. It's cliché, but it's true. Star Trek represents a positive vision of the future, that humanity can overcome its problems and become great. And it manages to do it by telling fun stories in the process.
Happy Birthday, Star Trek. Your first 50 years were great, hope you get to enjoy another 50! Live Long and Prosper!
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