An Endless Trek

You know what’s kind of weird about my childhood? Well, I think it’s weird. Sometimes I find out that what I think is normal is weird and what I think is weird is normal.

Anyway.

This is weird to me. My dad and both of my older sisters were all into Star Trek growing up. Actually, my dad was the Star Trek fan when I was a young child, and we weren’t allowed to watch it. But by the time I was a young teen, my older sister, Elyssa, got really into Star Trek.

And then, as she tended to do, Ronnie, my younger sister followed Elyssa’s lead and got into Star Trek as well. They would watch it, and they tried to get me into it too.

But here’s the thing.

It scared me.

Which sounds ridiculous because it’s Star Trek, and I know now that there’s literally nothing scary about it at all.

But my anxiety was very, very bad. I had been traumatized by a horror film when I was 12 (that’s another story for another day). After that, anything with a slightly suspenseful soundtrack made my heart race, and it really messed with my head.

So even something as silly as the Balok puppet head made my heart rate increase and made me want to sleep with the lights on.

So I didn’t watch it. I avoided it. My sisters had to beg me and convince me that it wouldn’t be scary just to share a clip of an episode of The Original Series with me. In hindsight, it was rather silly. But that’s the way it happened.

It’s one of those things that I always knew a little bit about just because I heard them talk about it and saw a clip or an episode here and there (Trouble with Tribbles and The Corbomite Maneuver were just about the only episodes I saw). But I never actually watched the shows or movies.

Well fast forward however many years to July 2022.

I had a vague idea of what Star Trek was along with a half-formed opinion based on what I’d heard my sisters and dad talk about. But I didn’t have a true opinion of my own, and I wanted one.

I’d watched some of The Original Series with Dmitry in fall of 2021 before everything fell apart once and for all. I enjoyed the 6 or so episodes we’d seen, and I made a big decision, nay, a commitment.

I decided I was going to watch Star Trek.

All of it!!!

Any completionist nerds out there?

I know you’re out there, don’t be shy!

OK, well whether or not anyone can relate, I am a decided completionist. I love making lists and marking each and every item off of the lists. It’s one of the best feelings to me. When the whole list is done, and there is nothing left to be done, I feel so accomplished!

And so when I decided to watch all of Star Trek, I was (and still am) completely committed to it.

Elyssa was, naturally, super excited when I told her I wanted to watch Star Trek. She even recommended a delightful podcast to listen to alongside it, called the Post Atomic Horror Podcast.

At first, I will admit, I was a little overwhelmed. I mean there are so many series and episodes of Star Trek. Plus hundreds of Post Atomic Horror podcast episodes?? That is a LOT of Star Trek. But I wanted to get started and start forming that opinion.

So off I went, watching Star Trek. And a year and a half later, I have finished watching all of classic Trek! Oh my gods it’s been a ride.

You could say, it’s been a long road getting from there to here…

But I wouldn’t. Because then I’d be supporting a horrible, terrible show unworthy of calling itself Star Trek! You know what you did, Enterprise.

Obviously, I started with The Original Series. And I found a lot to love about it — Spock, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, Nurse Chapel, Yeoman Rand, Lieutenant Riley, I could go on.

Oh what’s that? There’s someone I didn’t mention in the list of “likes”?

Huh, that’s funny, I can’t think of anyone else …

Oh! Captain Kirk, you say? No no, he does not belong on the “likes” list.

Ugh Captain Kirk. He is a polarizing one, isn’t he? OK he’s great in certain scenarios. For instance, he was brilliant and hilarious in The Trouble with Tribbles. And the fight scene with the Gorn is one I’ll never forget. Oh and of course, there is his stellar performance in The Enemy Within — “I’M CAPTAIN KIRK!!!”

But more often than not, Captain Kirk is a douche canoe who sexually harasses any woman he lays eyes on, ignores and mistreats his crew, and meddles with civilizations which he has no business meddling in.

Enough about him.

Let’s talk about Spock and Bones. Oh. Em. Gee. I love these two. Yes, they’re both a little racist towards each other, yes, they are always squabbling about one thing or another, and yes, they will give each other shit for the smallest, pettiest thing.

And they love each other with all their hearts. Gods, do they love each other.

These two are the best of friends. Total opposites in personality, completely different backgrounds, oftentimes opposing values, and still they are the best of friends. They get on each others’ nerves like no one else in the Universe can, and it’s because no one understands them better than each other.

They are seriously the cutest bromance you ever saw, and they alone would make the entire series worth it. But there are other awesome characters like Scotty, Sulu, and Uhura, not to mention great villains like Female Romulan Commander, the Klingons, and Harry Mudd, plus cool aliens and robots. There is so much to love!

Now I will say, this show was made in the 60s, so there is a lot to not love. Sexism, racism, some pretty gross patriotism, even some religious nonsense.

Oh and Plato’s Step Children. Just don’t watch that episode, trust me. Watch The Doomsday Machine instead. Can we just delete Plato’s Step Children from existence? Please and thank you.

Let me tell you, though. When I was done with The Original Series, I was so sad. I wanted there to be more, and of course there wasn’t and never would be. Seriously so sad. I liked the movies too, all but Star Trek 5, that is. If we could also have Star Trek 5 and Sybok struck from the record, that would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Going from that to the animated series was… not great. But there will still things to like about the animate series. After all, it featured Mres, Eriks, James Doohan doing all the voice acting, giant Spock, dick bats (that’s not canon. That’s from the Post Atomic Horror Podcast).

I liked the animated series well enough. But let’s face it, it’s not nearly as good as the rest of them.

I lied. It is so much better than Enterprise. But we’ll get there.

Both of my sisters love, love, love Q, and they would love showing me stellar scenes with Q in them. Because of this, I knew to expect Q as a recurring treat throughout The Next Generation. But imagine my surprise when Q shows up in Farpoint, the pilot!

It was gleeful surprise, but surprise nonetheless.

Regardless, The Next Generation (TNG) has a special place in my heart. Whenever I think about TNG, I get a warm, familiar feeling in my heart. Despite its many, many problems, like the way Deanna Troi and Beverly Crusher are written and how Dr. Polaski disappears without so much as being mentioned, there is so much to love about it.

First and foremost, Captain Picard, easily the best captain of all time. Not only is he an exceedingly able captain, he is an interesting man with lots of layering and excellent characterization. For the most part, anyway. He is totally badass and always puts his ship and her crew first.

Unlike the weird, creepy way that Kirk loved the Enterprise like a woman and viewed her crew as expendable (byeeeee red shirts! Except Scotty).

He’s a seriously good tactician, diplomat, pilot, and leader. Everyone respects him, and he gets out of his comfort zone to connect with his crew and become closer to them. And his relationship with Q is the best ever. I don’t care about Beverly Crusher or Vash. Step aside ladies because Q and Picard make the best pair of all!

You can’t change my mind.

Q is hilarious. He’s snarky, petty, arrogant, and petulant, not to mention exceedingly selfish and proud. I know these all make him sound like the worst, most intolerable character ever. But really he’s wonderful!

Well, Picard thinks he’s the worst. But Q has a character arc of his own, and he grows as an individual. Not a whole lot, mind you, but enough that he and Picard end up with a semblance of a friendship by the end of the series. It’s seriously the best.

Then there’s Data. Oh how I love adorable Data. Not only is he the most adorable artificial life form there ever was, he has really great character development as well, and I love to see him grow as the show progresses. His friendship with Geordi is super fun and cute, his relationship with his cat, Spot, is sweet, and his endless pursuit of humanity is both endearing and admirable.

There are some Data moments we choose to forget. Like his role in the masks episode. More blotting from the Great Book of Star Trek, thank you!

But there are unforgettable moments with Data, too. One moment that will stay with me forever is when he described how he experiences friendship. To me, it the most simple and innocent yet beautiful expression of love and friendship I have ever heard.

As I experience certain sensory input patterns, my mental pathways become accustomed to them. The input is eventually anticipated, and even missed when absent.

When I inexplicably miss people, feel complex emotions that I have trouble understanding, or start overcomplicating my friendships and relationships, I fall back on this concept. It helps me understand what I’m experiencing and why I’m experiencing it. It helps me remember that I am human, that I am a product of my biology, and that there are some things that are simply out of my control.

You’d think that would make it worse, but it helps. I stop fretting about things beyond my control, accept my responses to various situations for what they are, and focusing on processing my emotions in a healthy, constructive way.

And I mentioned Geordi, but he is a fantastic character in his own right. He is the quintessential engineer. He’s had some really great moments like when he had the chance to work with Scotty. I can’t tell you how excited I was to see that! He saved the day, oftentimes with Data’s help as they brainstormed and geeked out. He was also one of Wesley Crusher’s only friends, and somehow that all worked really well.

I liked Wesley Crusher well enough until the writers messed him up. I am mad about his dumb destiny arc, and that is all I’m willing to say about it.

Oh but then there’s Will Riker and Deanna Troi. Each of them are great characters in their own right (well, poor Deanna is written terribly until season 6, but then they start writing her as the badass she is, and it works out), but their whole will they, won’t they best-friends-who-love-each-other deal was just the right amount of ongoing romance for the show. The way they call each other imzadi makes my heart melt every single time.

Someday, I hope I’ll have someone to call imzadi ♥

I really could go on, (I haven’t even gotten the chance to Guinan, the Borg, or Mark Twain!) but I am realizing that perhaps I should have broken this up into a couple of posts because it’s so long already. And we’re only halfway done. We still have to get through DS9, Voyager, and … ugh … Enterprise.

As a matter of fact, I think I will save the other three from a supplemental post that I’ll put out in the middle of this week. Because there is still so much to talk about, and this post will go forever if I let it.

I will say before ending this post, though, that by the title of this post, you might get the impression that I am tired of Star Trek. Quite the opposite, actually. I hope that it truly is an endless trek, that it goes on forever. I hope new ideas emerge, that Star Trek takes on new points of view, tackles different stories, and continues to fuel our imaginations about the Universe and what all might be out there, waiting for us to come experience it.

Live long and prosper.

**READ ME (please)**
Two things!

One, please note that the names of everyone in this blog have been altered to protect the people I write about. My main goal is to explore my experiences and my growth, not air anyone’s dirty laundry out. Any likeness to people you know in real life are probably coincidental. (I mean what are the chances? It’s a pretty big world!)

Two, the thoughts and opinions I express in this blog are merely a result of my personal experiences to this point in my life. If there is anything I have misrepresented, overlooked, or have a blind spot for, feel free to leave a comment or email me at contact@livingbetween.net. (Yes, this includes typos. Let me fix my typos, please!) All I ask is that you always remain respectful.

Talk soon!
– Lynda –