Welcome Fellow Trekkies! The GTD Get to Know You thread

[Trollheart]

Thanks Calculon. Hope you win that Oscar!
Yeah I think you'd be right in describing it as a sort of blog, with plenty of room for comments and discussion. I can link you to it if you want (not sure if that's allowed here). Thanks for the reply.

 

[MattArnold]

hello all! I'm new here! Glad to join your community

 

[Mathieu]

Hey guys! I'm a newbie here, I felt I've had to share my feelings with you about my strange relationship with Star Trek so I apologize beforehand for my very long message.

I must confess I'm very new to Star Trek. I've been watching everything from TNG to current Trek (Discovery, Picard and Lower Decks) almost non-stop for about 3 years, and I became obsessed with the franchise. Not all of the franchise though, I'm above all a fan of Berman-era Trek (TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT), as I failed to connect with TOS, no matter how hard I tried (btw, I'm not that much of a fan of post-ENT Trek either).

That being said, I always feel a bit like an alien around Trekkies. I know how crazy it might sound but the idea that I may like Star Trek for the wrong reasons interfered with my liking of the different series to the point that I've stopped watching any of them at the moment. A bit like a "faith crisis". All I keep thinking is: maybe I didn't get the true meaning of Star Trek, maybe I wasn't really made to watch any of this.

To know where I'm coming from, “political” sci-fi with lots of diplomacy and conflicts is what really rocks my boat. Battlestar Galactica is my favorite series of all time and what turned me into lover of space operas for life. Babylon 5 and The Expanse are other favorites of mine. Also, my favorite non-sci-fi shows tend to be either political and/or spy dramas. I'm a big fan of shows such as The West Wing, The Americans or Homeland. I'm not huge on fantasy shows. Such an atypical profile for a Star Trek fan (or wannabe fan), I guess.

Yet when I read comments, it always strikes me that episodes that deal with politics or war are not exactly what Trekkies crave. It seems that it is even a turn-off for many of them, which find that Deep Space Nine is the contrary of what Star Trek should be all about.

I've read countless times: “if that's what you're looking for, Star Trek is not for you, go back to your Star Wars” because there is that cliché (that I find absolutely wrong) that everything that involves war or conflicts at some point means shallow pew-pew battles with no plots at all and the praise of a warmonger morality. If that was the case, I would definitely hate that kind of sci-fi too, as I find action for the sake of action totally pointless and as I hate cynicism (hence why I cannot appreciate mirror episodes with only bad guys like In A Mirror, Darkly). What keeps me watching is the tension, the intrigue and the politics/strategy lying underneath, the action is only secondary.

After all, I know all too well that Star Trek is a series about exploration, whose motto is “to seek out new life and new civilizations”, something which is quite different from the kind of sci-fi I was used to but I decided to give it a try anyway. Although I happen to like many of them, I have to confess that episodes about the crew landing on a planet to meet a civilization that we will never hear about in future episodes are generally not my favorites. How odd, I know...

As much as I am well aware that The Inner Light, Darmok and The Visitor are regarded as favorites by almost every Trekkie, I'll admit I'll pick any episode involving conflicts between the Federation and the Romulans, the Cardassians and the Bajorans, the Dominion, the Xindis etc. over these universally beloved episodes any day.

For all these reasons, Deep Space Nine clicked with me in a way the other Star Trek shows didn't completely (although I really love TNG, VOY and ENT as well) because it was a darker, more realistic, more nuanced and less naïve Star Trek. Make no mistake, I love my sci-fi with lots of moral or philosophical issues at stakes (The Measure of a Man is a favorite of mine, as that theme was largely prevalent in BSG) and I praise the humanistic philosophy of Star Trek, but I also like the fact that even good guys can make questionable decisions sometimes. I loved BSG because William Adama sometimes had no choice but to choose the least worst out of two bad decisions to save the most of his crew. That added a special edge to the show.

So it all comes down to this: do I like Star Trek for the wrong reasons?

Thanks for your reading

 

[Bodo123]

Hello Everybody, I am new to TrekBBS but I have been a Star Trek Fan for over 40 Years. For me it started with Kirk/Spock/McCoy on german TV. Currently I am rewatching ENT. I already yachted DS9 and VOY during the pandemic and TNG will be next. I am also planing to run the Star Trek Adventures pen& paper RPG for some friends. Seems like I am deeper into Star Trek than the last few years.
As far a forum usage goes: I think I am more of a reader than a writer, but let's see how it goes.
Regard,
Bodo

 

[Shire55]

Hey all. I've been away for a long time. I thought I'd drop by and say g'day.

 

[Leathco]

Hi!

 

[Eremurus]

Hey all. This is my first post.

By all accounts, I am a complete beginner- I only got into Star Trek in 2020. Yikes. But once I got my own Netflix account and decided to give TOS a spin...I fell completely head over heels in love with this series. I have watched all the TV shows, with the exception of Discovery. I have not watched any of the Star Trek movies, or the Next Generation movies. I would like to change that. However, I do not have the streaming services for these movies...yet. I am not really interested in the new Kelvin timeline movies. I watched one and was very underwhelmed.

Thanks for reading. But odd about not being able to select an icon until 14 days and 14 posts- but I will continue to stick around nonetheless. Cheers.

 

[Henoch]

Yikes. But once I got my own Netflix account and decided to give TOS a spin...I fell completely head over heels in love with this series.

Glad to have another TOS-lover aboard.

 

[War Master]

Hello everyone,

My screen name is War Master. It is a reference to an incarnation of the Master from Doctor Who, played by Sir Derek Jacobi. Some of you might recognize my screen name from Gallifrey Base. I hope to meet other members that are from Gallifrey Base as well.

I am a fanatical Doctor Who fan. However, before I even heard of Doctor Who; I was and still am a proud Trekkie. My father introduced me to Star Trek when I was a young child in the '90s. The first memory of Star Trek was him putting a VHS tape of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Then later I saw reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space 9, although it wasn't until a few years ago that I watched TNG and DS9 in chronological order. My first Star Trek film that I saw in the theater was Star Trek: Insurrection. Although, what made me fall in love with Star Trek was Star Trek: First Contact because I am obsessed with the Borg. The first Star Trek series that I saw in the original broadcast was Enterprise.

I have seen every Star Trek film. Currently, I have watched all of TNG, DS9, Enterprise, Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks. Meanwhile, I have seen a handful of episodes of TOS and Voyager; I am trying to change that to seen all of the episodes. I am not sure if I will get into the Animated series.

Favorite Star Trek film(s): Star Trek: First Contact & Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; it's a tie. However, if you put a phaser to my head and make me choose, it would be...

Least Favorite film: Star Trek Into Darkness

Favorite Captain(s): Jean-Luc Picard & Benjamin Sisko

Overrated Captian: James T. Kirk

Favorite Trek Episodes: The Best of Both Worlds and In the Pale Moonlight

Best Doctor(s) from Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi and David Tennant

 

[J. Random Redshirt]

Greetings to all Trekkers/Trekkies, old and new. I suppose I should post in this thread while I'm still an ensign! Actually, my first post was in Ten Forward (quoted below).

In regard to the poll, I wanted to answer: "Excited? Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions."

"One to beam up."

Hello! This is my first post on Trek BBS. I'm basically an old-school Trekkie, 1970s-style... watched the TOS reruns, and had a lot of Trek materials like the Concordance (with the wheel), Technical Manual, Enterprise blueprints, The Making of Star Trek, Starlog #1, AMT kits, etc. I don't have any of those anymore, because I lost pretty much all my possessions from my youth (for various reasons). On the other hand, I still have my memories, so I'm still pretty good with Trek trivia (both in-universe and behind-the-scenes).

Actually, the extent to which I've watched the various series is proportional to how long ago they were produced (ranging from 100% of TOS to 0% of the current series).

In short... a TOS nut!

"One more thing" (said Lt. Columbo)... I'm also a fan of The Prisoner (starring Patrick McGoohan).

 

[freethinker]

Hello, this site is lovely and so... diverse.

 

[Pikirk_Janesisko]

Hello everyone!

I have a complicated history with Star Trek. As a kid I never cared for it because I only watched Star Wars, even though my father is a big fan of TOS. I remember him watching The Original Series all the time when I was a kid and he also used to collect action-figures.

It wasn't until I was in high school that I watched the 2009 film. I didn't like it very much, although it got me interest enough to watch the series. As soon as I put on "The Cage" I was astonished, I quickly became a fan.

I watched TOS several times and it used to be my favorite series... well... before I saw TNG in its entirety. When I first watched "Encounter at Farpoint" I hated so much, it put me off from TNG for years. I then was told that the first two season were considered pretty terrible and that the show gets better after season 3. I gave another chance and afterwards I got hooked.

I really like the portrayal of a utopian future, something that you don't see very often in sci-fi. The political aspects and social commentary it's also one of my favorite aspects too. Some of my favorite episodes include "Errand of Mercy", "The Measure of Man" and "Far Beyond the Stars".

I also really like DS9, it is an amazing desconstruction of the main ethos of Star Trek; VOY and ENT not so much, but both have their moments. I'm not a big fan of the TNG movies and the newer shows though, I personally think, in my opinion, they miss the point of what Star Trek was supposed to be, but I'm glad people are able to enjoy.

Thank you for reading.

 

[oldtrekkie]

Hello, fans!

I am old and new, new to this site and old to star trek. My main concern is fun. If an episode or a movie give me fun then they're alright in my book.

It's nice to be here among fans.

Thank you.

 

[Rhodo]

Hi y'all, I've been a fan since 2000 or so - parody on Adventures in Odyssey, of all things, got me curious about Trek, and so Papa showed me the TOS ep 'The Changeling'. I've been almost exclusively a TOS fan for many years, but watched all of TNG a couple years ago and just got started on DS9, now that it's available on Netflix.

I'm really attached to Spock, Kira, Ro, and Odo [thus the username 'Rhodo', with the bonus meaning of 'rose colored' - I'm pretty upbeat]. As far as shipping goes, I want these characters to be happy. I am not picky about how that happens, and I would love to hear all your shipping headcanons and explanations involving these characters.

I draw and write some in my spare time, I knit, and I've been trying to self-study the Japanese language for a couple years. Very into art nouveau of the late 1890s-early 1900s, seiyuu [Japanese voice actors], and older anime and manga from the 70s-early 00s, and fashion.

 

[ColdFusion180]

Hello,

Long time fan; first time to the site. Still getting used to forums, so please forgive my inevitable mistakes! I enjoy reading and generally focus writing clean and (theoretically) humorous fan fiction.

Looking forward to being a part of the community.

Cold Fusion

 

[fireproof78]

Welcome!

Mistakes will happen. Any teasing is in good fun

 

[Bill Arbour]

Hello!
I am new to this forum but certainly not new to Star Trek. I have been a fan since the mid-70s at about age 10.
I look forward to learning from fellow fans and, sharing my thoughts.
Thank you!

 

[Commander Troi]

Hi! I found this site while looking for a friend I'd lost touch with and I'm glad I did! While all my friends are geeks, we rarely have time to actually *talk* about any of this stuff, and I'm realizing how much I've missed that. Plus, having had some not-so-pleasant experiences with online fandom, I'm thrilled with how nice everyone is here!

I'm a Trekkie from the womb - my parents watched TOS when it originally aired. I saw all the eps in reruns on TV as a kid. My parents loved comics and SF, so I was raised with those. I got into Doctor Who in my senior year of high school, so when I saw a bunch of loonies at college yelling "Save Doctor Who!" I knew I'd found my people. Every relationship in my life can be traced back to that moment, and I'm eternally grateful I took a chance that day.

TNG came on when I was in college and I almost immediately identified with Troi. I love how much she grew and developed over the course of the show. It was the first time I'd ever seen an even vaguely realistic 1) mom-daughter relationship and 2) women-to-women friendship (Deanna and Bev) in SF. So much has changed since then! Mostly for the better.

I loved all the movies and DS9. (Side note: you know you are surrounded by The Right People when one on either side of you makes a Superman joke while watching Nemesis in the theater!)

While I liked the concept of Voyager, and many of the characters, the writing drove me nuts after awhile. I stopped watching after an ep when Janeway and Paris were turned into slugs and mated.

I tried to like Enterprise, really. I liked T'Pol and Trip, but Bakula bored me and I stopped after 1st season.

I'm pretty happy with Picard and Discovery, and Lower Decks makes me laugh *ALOT*.

Other interests: Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica (new), all the Berlanti shows, MCU... pretty much any SF&F that catches my attention. I'm happy to be here!

 

[fireproof78]

Hello!
I am new to this forum but certainly not new to Star Trek. I have been a fan since the mid-70s at about age 10.
I look forward to learning from fellow fans and, sharing my thoughts.
Thank you!

Welcome!

Hi! I found this site while looking for a friend I'd lost touch with and I'm glad I did! While all my friends are geeks, we rarely have time to actually *talk* about any of this stuff, and I'm realizing how much I've missed that. Plus, having had some not-so-pleasant experiences with online fandom, I'm thrilled with how nice everyone is here!

I'm a Trekkie from the womb - my parents watched TOS when it originally aired. I saw all the eps in reruns on TV as a kid. My parents loved comics and SF, so I was raised with those. I got into Doctor Who in my senior year of high school, so when I saw a bunch of loonies at college yelling "Save Doctor Who!" I knew I'd found my people. Every relationship in my life can be traced back to that moment, and I'm eternally grateful I took a chance that day.

TNG came on when I was in college and I almost immediately identified with Troi. I love how much she grew and developed over the course of the show. It was the first time I'd ever seen an even vaguely realistic 1) mom-daughter relationship and 2) women-to-women friendship (Deanna and Bev) in SF. So much has changed since then! Mostly for the better.

I loved all the movies and DS9. (Side note: you know you are surrounded by The Right People when one on either side of you makes a Superman joke while watching Nemesis in the theater!)

While I liked the concept of Voyager, and many of the characters, the writing drove me nuts after awhile. I stopped watching after an ep when Janeway and Paris were turned into slugs and mated.

I tried to like Enterprise, really. I liked T'Pol and Trip, but Bakula bored me and I stopped after 1st season.

I'm pretty happy with Picard and Discovery, and Lower Decks makes me laugh *ALOT*.

Other interests: Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica (new), all the Berlanti shows, MCU... pretty much any SF&F that catches my attention. I'm happy to be here!

Welcome aboard. I appreciate your views with Voyager and Enterprise. Similar to my own.

 

[Sunflower UK]

Hi

I'm new to the forum and I've been watching Star Trek since I was a child back in the 80's, partly because my dad watched the show too. My favourite series are the Original Series and TNG but I've enjoyed all the other shows too. What has bought me to the Trek BBS is that I've just started watching Discovery - just finished series 1 - and for the most part I've enjoyed it.

Such is my love of the original cast, I even like watching Star Trek: The Motion Picture, though the Final Frontier is still a bit of a challenge.

My favourite characters are the Kirk / Spock / McCoy trio but also Data and Riker.

Star Trek aside, I'm mostly a documentary watcher but enjoy a good drama or movie too.