Star Trek

Yes, I'm a geeky girl who loves Star Trek, so I'm excited about the new film that I've heard is amazing (at least from my friend Moe, whose judgment I trust).

The reason I love Star Trek is because of my dad. We would sit and watch the original tv show reruns together every weekend around our small, brown, tv in our living room. It was all so campy, but as a four/five year old the colors, stories and creatures captivated my attention. When the movies came out, I always saw them with my dad. My mom wasn't into the series, so originally it was just the two of us. I remember going to a four-plex theater in Rockford, Illinois. We'd get there early, and sit at the top row, center. At that time there were no commercials and advertisements like there are now; it was just a "star field" of various colored lights on the screen, all moving to create very entrancing figures. My dad and I would sit there, eating popcorn and basically making up our own "movie" to the colors on the screen. "Oh no, watch out! The alien is behind you!" Stuff like that. We used our imaginations to kill time until people started filling the seats and the movie started.

I received the "Star Trek" magazine for a few years, which we learned of its existence while stopping at Wall Drug in South Dakota during our move to Wenatchee, Washington from Sterling, Illinois. Later when we moved to Austin, Texas, we attending a very small Trek convention. For the record, we did not dress up as cast. We loved the series, but not that much. In the 80's and early 90's, we had every movie on a VCR tape, which we watched often. It was an important bonding experience for us.

When Star Trek Next Generation started we were both against watching the show. It seemed hard to imagine it would have the same "integrity" of the first show, but for me it turned out to be even better. We finally saw an episode and were hooked; I credit the Borg storyline for our interest. Now my younger brother joined in the bonding. As the movies kept coming out it was now the three of us. I think I have seen almost all Star Trek movies except maybe the first and last ones with my dad. As I grew older and lived in places away from wherever my parents were at the time, Brad became my companion for the Trek shows and films.

I watched Deep Space Nine, but was never a regular viewer. It took reruns to get me to watch Voyager, which was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. When Enterprise started it was always taped on TIVO, though the series never did meet expectations.

The last few "Trek" series movies were not top on my list. And while I've spent months wondering if this newest film would be able to entice me enough to watch, I've come to the conclusion that it's a must. I'm not sure how...I have to work on Saturday, Brad has class and I doubt my mom would be happy to go see it together on Mother's Day. But maybe, just maybe, I can get at least my dad and Brad together to see the film this weekend. I just can't imagine not seeing it with the two important men in my life. I won't always be 10 minutes down the road from my folks, so I want to make the most of it while I still can.

How will I judge the movie? I want to be able to recognize little things about the original characters in this newer, younger cast. Scotty & McCoy were my favorites, so those actors better do those characters justice. I don't want over dramatization or the "campy" style of the 60's show, but I want lots of action and I want to be sucked in and entertained for the time I'm there. I want to feel like I'm back in that movie theater in Rockford with my dad on one side, and now my husband on the other, enjoying the cultural phenomenon of the late 20th century called "Star Trek." Just more updated, visually appealing, and with an amazing storyline that the last few movies have been lacking. And if I can somehow skip all of the commercial/ad garbage beforehand, even better.

That being said, I think this is an appropriate way to end this blog: