The year was 226x (roughly), almost 300 years in the future, and mankind had not only
leapt up to the stars, but had met and joined with other sentient races already there. A
young captain led his crew out into the unknown, bravely going where no one had gone before,
exploring the final frontier
Star Trek, the original series (TOS), started about a year after I was born, so I didn't
get to see it until it was in syndication years later. The first epdisode i saw escapes me
but one of the first ones I recall seeing was XXX. I was hooked instantly, and watched every
episode repeatedly, never tiring of the stories. It got to the point where I could identify
the story, if not the title, in the first 5 or 10 seconds of the openeing scene.
(Isn't that sad?)
Week after week, although in syndication it was more like day after day, I would travel
with the crew of the starship Enterprise to strange new worlds and confront new and exciting
challenges. It fueled my science fiction interests and creativity, spurring an interest in
space and technology. But to my 8th grade mind, third grade and real world technology paled
in comparison to the world of Star Trek. There were many day dreams then of adventures
with Kirk and Spock, and a starship of my own.
I was totally addicted to Star Trek, always one of those fans who wanted something new,
or at least hopeing the show would return to the air - after all, "I" was special, "I"
wanted it, so it must happen. Right?
I was slightly placated by the Saturday morning cartoon version of Star Trek in the early
70's, but it would be the end of the decade before anyone saw the Starship Enterprise
fly again.
While the movie was eagerly anticipated, and had some good special effects, for the day,
the story was not really the most original or captivating. Some people doubted there
would be a second movie.
But the folks at paramount smelled money from the fans and The Wrath of Khan was released.
I went to see it the night before i took my SAT tests for college. Probably not one of
the best ideas i ever had, but I guess I was energized enough from the movie to get thru
the tests and do quite well.
More movies came out, even numbered were pretty good, odd numbered ones...weren't.
Finally, it was time for another tv series, and StarTrek: The Next Genertion was born. 81
years in the future, the newest Enterprise, NCC 1701-D, Galaxy class, flew to new adventures,
and had plenty of new technology and toys to play with - a holodeck and a separating saucer.
When I built the models of the orginal Enterprise, i always wonder what it would be like
for the saucer to separate, or for the design to be turned upside down, the engines becoming
runner skids.
