When you’re a kid, heroes are very impressionable. A child’s hero is often a good indication of what that child will aspire to be when they grow. Heroes help define our self-worth and give a measuring stick on where we want to be in life.
You’re going to laugh at this. I swear you are, so get it out now. Go ahead. Laugh. keep going. Are you done? No?! Ok….keep going. Laugh. All out? Sure? Good, moving on.
When I was small, way back in the early 80s, Star Trek was heavy in syndication. Not the NEXT GENERATION (hadn’t come out yet),…or Deep Space Nine, or any other damn series….just plain ol’ Star Trek. The TV show with the terrible special efx and a cast straight out of a 60s B-rated sci-fi movie. When you’re four years old though, none of that matters. The phasers were cool because it shot out a lazer, and what’s this beaming thing? and Warp drive?! That’s some cool shit when you’re four years old.
From those days of sitting on my aunt’s floor in Kansas City watching an episode called “Mudd’s Women”, I wanted to see what happened to these characters of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Captain Kirk was always the coolest guy ever. I had no idea who William Shatner was, nor did I care. Kirk was awesome…captain of the ship, young, got all the ladies, got to go explore the universe, shoot up some aliens….again…pretty cool for a four year old kid!
Spock was always solid too. It always seemed like to me when I was little that, when shit hit the fan, you want a Mr. Spock giving you guidance. Why? Because you can trust his opinion. You never saw Kirk asking the red shirt crew member what he thought…he asked Spock. Note to self: when I get older, find a Vulcan friend to bail you out of bad situations.
I know all of the NERD crap that follows Star Trek. It’s a very taboo thing to say you like the show…immediate branding soon follows anyone brave enough to admit it. So what’s the big deal, why do so many people like the show? What’s the hooplah all about?
For me, personally, the characters and stories are untouchable. Gene Roddenbery did some of the best character development in the history of modern entertainment. Regardless of a bad budget and models and poor effects, the CHARACTERS and the STORIES made these shows worthwhile. Boil the show down to the basics and you have an incredible experience waiting for you. The characters in Star Trek engage in a core human value that is RARELY touched on in any form of media: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! Do the right thing, no matter how HARD it is, no matter what set of circumstances you’re facing…no matter what. Surround yourself with people who you trust and know what they’re doing and avoid people who say you can’t do something. …AND, my favorite, NEVER believe in a No-win situation.
There are so many great values at the heart of this show.
If more people GOT IT, the world would be a better place
(that’s an amazingly hippy thing to say, sorry if you think I’m crazy, but it’s really good stuff if you ever take the time to examine it).
The new movie is INCREDIBLE. J.J. Abrams, to me, is one of the ONLY people alive and working in the movie industry who can still TELL A STORY. Like Roddenbery, like Rod Serling, like Spielberg, Abrams has this uncanny ability to MAKE YOU CARE about what he’s telling you. As much as he’s a pro director and producer, he’s an ACE storyteller…which makes the rest of what he does amazing.
Abrams GETS IT. He finally made a movie that took the essence of these characters and brought them to light…..something that the rest of the movies simply implied. They knew their audience “got it” and knew these characters. Abram says, “you might know these guys, but you really don’t.” For us Trek geeks, it’s an amazing movie…but it’s also a fantastic movie for everyone who has never seen an episode. It takes Roddenberry’s characters that are truly timeless and brings the essence of his stories to the front of the line.
As a long time fan as well, it’s very exciting to see the franchise re-launched in such a positive way and it’s incredible to think that we have so much more to come.
Yeah this blog screams NERD ALERT, but you know what, that’s fine with me. You won’t see me at the supermarket with Vulcan ears on. I will be the first person in the movie theater to see what happens next though…check out the movie, you might be there too.
