When and how did you become a Star Trek fan?

[Mojochi]

Some of my earliest childhood memories circa the mid-1970s are of sitting in our 1st home's living room, frequently watching syndicated Star Trek reruns with my dad, on a squiggly old tube tv screen, no bigger than a laundromat drier window. He has always been a fan of classic sci-fi & had enjoyed it during it's initial airing. We were both overjoyed to see its rise from that ignominious obscurity, going from being a mocked antiquity like Gilligan's Island was, to when it got its cinematic rebirth.

We've seen every Star Trek motion picture in a theatrical setting together, & were both avid fans of TNG. Our opinions on the franchise's development haven't always been favorable nor synchronous. In fact, we find our divergent tastes amusing. I've grown to like DS9. He doesn't. We both dislike Voyager, but he somehow ended up liking Enterprise, & I don't so much. I tried to get him to watch some TAS, which I know isn't that good, but I still like it some. He somehow missed it when it aired. I think mostly because he probably thought of it as kids tv. I couldn't get him through a single episode. He hated it lol.

Neither of us are overwhelmingly in love with the Kelvin films, but we don't dislike them either. We just think it's too much like all the other modern blockbuster franchises, cookie cutter studio pabulum, that doesn't stand out, or speak to us anymore, and neither of us have gone to the lengths to subscribe to see Discovery. It's been funny to see where our sensibilities & tastes line up or don't. I imagine that if they make another cinema film, we'll go see it though. It's just a fun tradition. The movie quality doesn't matter so much anymore. I've actually been wondering if I should try to introduce him to some of the big budget fan films. Who knows? He may like them hahaha

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

And it kind of picked up from there. My first ST book was Blish's Star Trek 9. And my first science fiction convention was SpaceCon 4, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

I might add that SpaceCon 4 was not nearly so well-run as Creation cons were (even back in the Disneyland Hotel days). While there were some good points, and I walked away with a 'zine (of sorts: Starfleet Assembly Manual 01), and I rather enjoyed some of the listings in the merchandise catalog (they offered some interesting "no smoking" signs: "Smokers will be sterilized" [with Nomad], and "Smokers will be introduced to the Salt Vampire" [with said individual]), in general, it didn't make me want to spend money on other cons, and in fact, the very next con I attended was not until years later, and it was a "free con" in a local shopping mall (and I enjoyed it a good deal more: I missed ADF's lecture, but I did catch Kathleen Sky and Stephen Goldin; I think that's also where I picked up my copy of ADF's The Tar-Aiym Krang).

 

[Admiral Archer]

My tale is a long and strange one, in that Star Trek was always a part of my life, but in my case I was exposed exclusively to The Next Generation from the start, because that was all that was on the air for a long time. Since I was born in 1989, I was too small and too late to the party to see any of the classic Trek films, and I had no knowledge whatsoever of the original Trek. At around age 3 or 4, I caught a scene of "Best of Both Worlds, Part 1", the scene after the commercial break following the infamous "We have engaged the Borg" scene. In it, I saw something that would be permanently etched into my psyche, an image that strongly influences my entire life to this day. Here was a symbol of humanity at its peak of perfection, the 24th century starship Enterprise, commanded by a human named Jean-luc Picard, facing a no-win scenario (I would learn about the Kobayashi Maru years later) against a threat the likes I had never seen before. The stoic borg voice said "You will surrender yourselves or we will destroy your ship." I expected Picard to wet himself, hide behind his chair, or at the very least, try to escape. What happened next I could not have anticipated. He YELLED back at them. "You have committed acts of aggression against the United Federation of Planets!" He was angry. And he wasn't going to let those jerks win. From that moment on, to this very day, Picard has been a hero of mine, and the above is my argument for why he is the greatest Star Trek captain of all time.

The years passed, as they do too often. I got a playmates toys Enterprise that Christmas (which my little brother promptly lost the warp engines to) and when I was six, my dad set me down and gave me the space talk playmates 7" Picard and Riker figures, on the condition that I take very, VERY good care of them (I only wish I had). At age 7, my dad ordered a collection of Star Trek TNG vhs tapes, a subscription of sorts if I recall, since we got a new tape every week. Around this time I also got the blueprints to the Enterprise-D, and learned that much of TNG was inspired by The Motion Picture (more on that later). I am sorry to say that I never got into DS9 or Voyager very intensively, but after I saw Generations and William Shatner ("The guy from 'Rescue 911'"?) was revealed as a lost captain of the Enterprise, I had to find out more about him. And I did; by watching all six classic Star Trek films (except for TSFS, which my dad refused to watch for at-the-time unspecified reasons) and reruns of the original series on NBC. I fell asleep during The Motion Picture, but the death of Spock in Wrath of Khan felt to me as grave and serious as the death of Jesus Christ. Around this time I also saw First Contact, the only TNG movie I love.

For years I looked for a new Enterprise to replace the lost TNG ship, and my moment came in 1998, when I was once again offered a choice of the bridge crew from Insurrection, or the Enterprise-E from the same film. I chose the latter, and it lasted with me until the 2009 trek film was released. In 1999, I borrowed the Star Trek Encyclopedia from the library, and in 2001 I finally accepted my Trekkie destiny and went back to rewatch TNG. I needed more Trek, though (especially after I went to see my first Trek in the movie theaters, "Nemesis", and hated it), and for some reason I wanted to re-rent The Motion Picture, mainly because I remembered the theme music being the same as in TNG and the latter films. I didn't get a chance, however Christmas 2003. From that moment on, everything changed. I had been a moody teenager suffering from a broken heart and severe bipolar and depression, but Star Trek The Motion Picture was like a sponge for all my negative emotion, feeding me positive vibes in return. TNG may have been my first love, but TMP literally saved my life, and showed me that there was a future for me and others like me if I was willing to work towards it.

I went back and watched all the movies, even TSFS (which I later learned contained the death of Kirk's son, the reason my dad refused to watch it). I never did get to see as much of DS9 as I would have liked, nor Voyager, nor even Enterprise (although I enjoyed what I saw of the latter of those three shows, hence my avatar). But when These are the Voyages ended, I was CRUSHED. Not because I thought the episode was bad, per se (I am a rare Trekkie who enjoyed it for the most part, except for Trip's death), but because it was over. My whole life there had been a steady stream of Trek in the media, and now, there was nothing.

My tale is getting close to it's ending (at least at the time of this writing). In 2008, I went to see Cloverfield so I could see the Enterprise (and Star Trek itself) being rebuilt from the ground up. The next year, I watched with tears in my eyes as Star Trek returned. I loved that movie, and I loved Into Darkness. Then came Beyond, which I wasn't so fond of (seriously how many times do you have to blow up the poor ship?) but Discovery has rekindled my interest. And here I am waiting patiently for Discovery Season 2, and what may lie over that next horizon, as Captain Archer would say.. .

 

[scotpens]

Basically, when Star Trek came on. I was 9, and it was awesome.

When the original series debuted on NBC, I was a month shy of 13. The timing couldn't have been better. I was the perfect age to get hooked.

Never cared much for TNG or any of the other post-TOS shows, and I have no desire to see any of the Abrams movies.

 

[feral.cherub]

TOS I was 4 years old and had a crush on Captain Kirk. (Sort of how 4-5 year old girls want to marry their father when they grow up or some Freudian nonsense like that.) Never missed an episode if I could help it.
"In the entire universe there's nothing more bizzare than life." A Frater from The Rosicrucian Fellowship

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I started watching TOS as a kid in the late 1970s, so I guess you could say I'm in the second generation of Trek fans, after the folks who watched it first run in the 60s. I was 7 when TMP came out, but I found it boring. My interest waned after that, so much so that I never saw TWOK in the theater. But I went to see TSFS with some friends in 1984 (I was 12 by this point, so the perfect age to get back into it.) That reignited my interest in the series, and I started reading the DC comic, to boot. And getting TWOK on VHS filled me in on what I missed.

TNG premiered my sophomore year of high school and ended right after I graduated college. Loved DS9 from beginning to end. I grew disenchanted with VOY after the Captain Sulu episode, when it occurred to me that I wasn't enjoying the show very much. I stopped cold turkey after that. I tapered off with ENT in the second or third season but came back in the fourth. I enjoyed the first Abrams movie, hated Into Darkness, and enjoyed Beyond. I haven't bit the bullet on CBS All Access to check out DSC beyond the first episode yet, but I think I will soon.

But TOS is still "my" Star Trek.

 

[Kerock]

When I was 7 Jonny Quest was on prime time. Loved that Jet....The Dragonfly.
Then when I was 8 years old a new show called Lost in Space came out. I was hooked.
Alas a year later Star Trek came out....but it was such an adult show the parents wouldn't let me watch it.....Two years later I was a fan for life. The first episode I really remember was "Who Mourns for Adonis". That giant hand was sooo creepy to a 10 year old.

Found this model at comic con - John Eaves sold it to me.
http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/n-biq04...usa.com_2__05573.1414526860.1280.1280.jpg?c=2

 

[johnnybear]

Star Trek was the in thing on television back in the seventies! All the kids watched it at 720pm every Wednesday evening, or was it Monday? It was one of those shows that just stayed with you for years even when your school friends had sort of disowned it later when they were chasing girls!
JB

 

[Artoo Atari]

It's funny to think about it now, but when I was little I was actually afraid of the syndicated episodes of TOS.

I remember one Saturday evening watching the premier episode of TNG as a teenager when it first aired on TV and I've been a fan ever since. Watched it and DS9 every week throughout their runs (I consider myself a Niner) as well as all the movies (though I only watched ST V in the theater and haven't seen it since).

Never cared for Voyager much. I would sometimes watch it if it was on but never really purposefully waited to see it.

Enjoyed ENT and watched it for the entire run. Didnt really care for the 3rd season but the 4th made up for it (excluding the finale which, like many, I ignore).

 

[Sibyl]

My mom was watching TV in my parents' bedroom. I came in, saw flying fried eggs on the TV and people in brightly-colored shirts, and asked, "What are you watching?" She told me, "Star Trek." I left the room and went back to play with Lego blocks or Star Wars figures or whatever.

The next time I saw it was a few years later when I was about 10-11 or so. There they were...flying fried eggs. Yup, same episode of TOS. Anyway, I stuck with it that time and watched the show religiously (it was already in reruns when I saw my mom watching it, and I was about 5 or 6).

I started to collect all of the Star Trek RPG game modules, deck plans, all the fan books I could get my hands on, blueprints...everything. My mom gave me HER copy of Spaceflight Chronology and the TMP Blueprints, and a little while later I rode my bike to see Star Trek III, my first Trek movie experience. Yeah, I was a little confused by the prologue.

I followed the development of TNG closely in Starlog magazine and was a fan of that from the premiere.

So, there's my story.

 

[cosmic mouse]

Disclaimer : I'm not a Trekkie, but I do like Trek quite a bit. It's one of the few tv shows that I gravitate towards (as opposed to film).
I watched TOS reruns and TAS as a kid... and I've always loved sci fi and anything slanted towards the positive and progressive. That's likely what did it.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

The next time I saw it was a few years later when I was about 10-11 or so. There they were...flying fried eggs. Yup, same episode of TOS.

Fried eggs, or Blastoneuron ingrahamii?

 

[Sibyl]

Fried eggs, or Blastoneuron ingrahamii?

Aren't they the same thing?

 

[stvlsc]

I got into Star Trek through channel hopping in my teens in the late 90's and stumbled across something called Voyager. One bite and I was hooked so to speak . Have watched it ever since, and got into most of the other series apart from DS9 which for some reason I'm never taken to, nor the animated series. Eagerly awaiting Discovery series 2 now...

 

[Ralphis]

I think it was probably either TNG as it originally aired, or the movies with the TOS cast... and I was born in '84... so pretty much my whole life. Although I'm sure originally the stories kind of went over my head because I was just a little kid, and I just watched because the ships and the aliens were cool. Thati's still kind of the case, but I do comprehend the stories now.

 

[Alejandro]

I don't consider myself a trekkie but the Star Trek series are one of the best series that I watched so far.
TNG and DS9 are my favorites and TOS is awesome also. I am just watching Voyager now.
Need to see the movies too.

 

[Greg Cox]

It's funny to think about it now, but when I was little I was actually afraid of the syndicated episodes of TOS. .

Not funny at all. TOS often scared me as a kid: the Gorn, the Horta, that faceless woman in "Charlie X" . . .

 

[Jedi Marso]

Started seeing TOS on reruns back during the 1970's, as a child. TOS and Space 1999 were two of my favorite live shows back then, along with the standard cop/firefighter fare and Sat morning cartoons.

Living overseas on a Navy base, sometimes the weekend matinee at the base theater would be a couple episodes of TOS shown back to back when there was nothing newer or better available.

In high school, Trek reruns were always on TV on the weekends. By this time, we had movies 1-3 as well so interest was revitalized. Started playing the old FASA Trek RPG with friends and reading Trek novels, back when Trek novels were a relatively new thing and there weren't that many of them.

I remember having real trepidation about TNG when it premiered my second year of college. S1 and S2 did little to inspire confidence, but the series turned into a success, obviously.

And so it goes on to the present day, with new series, movies, and reboots.

Trek fandom for me was sort of a gradual, lifelong thing. In truth, I don't really remember a time without Trek. TOS will always be my first, true, and genuine 'love' when it comes to all things Trek. I'm also a rabid SW fan who has felt increasingly let down as time has gone on. When someone else mentions Trek or I think of it in general, TOS is where my brain goes. I think over time, the efforts to 'recapture the magic' have diluted the product. I haven't watched a single episode of Discovery, and I don't care for the Abramsverse movies. Those are just my subjective likes and dislikes, not a testimony on the franchise itself. But I can honestly say I'm a lifelong Trek fan, and not the least bit bashful about admitting it.

 

[johnnybear]

Not funny at all. TOS often scared me as a kid: the Gorn, the Horta, that faceless woman in "Charlie X" . . .

There were many such scary aliens or occurrences in the show! Gary Mitchell's eyes terrified me for ages and the Gorn I watched from behind the armchair! Even Melvin Belli's Gorgon was unnerving to me as a ten year old! The Anthropoid illusion that Pike tried to strangle made me scared to go to the toilet on one occasion while the faceless woman was the stuff of nightmares unequalled anywhere in any of the other Treks!
JB

 

[Lord Garth]

The scene in "The Enemy Within" between Kirk and Rand is still hard to watch. My brother still thinks Balok is scary. And then there's the Salt Creature.