Family Memories Involving TOS?
- Thread starter Shatmandu
- Start date
Family memories...In 1966, Dad (who was working for the space program at the time) bought a 19" RCA color TV (biggest one on the block), his best friend worked as an advertising agent for an NBC affiliate in Florida, the NBC new Fall schedule had several shows featured, and Star Trek was prominent. My mother, a huge Twilight Zone and Outer Limits fan, decided to let me watch the premier (The Man Trap)which scared the living crap out of me... and I was hooked, I saw all 3 seasons on the first run..even that dreaded 10PM Death time slot during it's 3rd season... was bought model kits, toys, a lunchbox with Thermos[TM] just gobs of stuff..when it went into syndication, I watched it every time I could..by the time High School rolled around my mother was wholeheartedly supporting my Trek habit..financing trips to conventions in Sacramento for me and my friends...She financed a membership in Sacramento S.T.A.R. for me and my friend Joe..
Then flash forward to when my boys were young...I would watch TOS with my sons seeing it through their eyes..shiney and new... and I know at least 1 of them is a die hard TOS Trek fan...
The Circle is now complete...
Then flash forward to when my boys were young...I would watch TOS with my sons seeing it through their eyes..shiney and new... and I know at least 1 of them is a die hard TOS Trek fan...
The Circle is now complete...
I cannot clearly recall a time when I was not familiar with Star Trek. My father was an avid viewer from the original run, and I am unsure whether I showed an interest from a very early age or whether he decided it was a thing I should have, but I have a vivid recollection of of being taken to see TWOK in the theater at age four with my full collection of Mego TMP figures in tow. I reacted quite badly to Spock's death, and had to be taken out of the theater briefly to be quieted.
I became an avid viewer of TOS in syndicated reruns, and I have a distinct recollection of my mother telling me about "The Trouble With Tribbles", and how keenly I wanted to watch it right that minute, but I couldn't, because I had to wait for it to show up in the rerun cycle. That was about 1983. Now, almost unbelievably, I can see it whenever I want with just a handful of keystrokes.
I became an avid viewer of TOS in syndicated reruns, and I have a distinct recollection of my mother telling me about "The Trouble With Tribbles", and how keenly I wanted to watch it right that minute, but I couldn't, because I had to wait for it to show up in the rerun cycle. That was about 1983. Now, almost unbelievably, I can see it whenever I want with just a handful of keystrokes.
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I used to feign illnesses during my middle school years so I could spend the day at my grandmother's house watching Trek on home video. She never really watched with me, though. She probably thought it was silly.
At least she made me lunch... and I had all the Cheese-Puffs I could eat!
At least she made me lunch... and I had all the Cheese-Puffs I could eat!
No no, a little black man crept into the caravan and swallowed our TV. We let him keep it on the promise that he'd sit with us on evenings, turn on the TV and press the screen up against the wall of his stomach till we left. That way we'd still be able to watch TV in the evenings rather than talk to each other and play scrabble.
TWOK was memorable in that the BBC cut down on the gore as much as they could but good old RTE (the Irish state broadcaster) kept it all in for an early morning showing. They did the same for a late night showing of Robocop too.
Tea time telly was good in those days (still is really, it's just moved onto cable and satellite now.) I used to get TOS withdrawal when the show wasn't on, I leapt at anything that looked like TOS and wished it deeply to be a scene that would cut to Kirk and Spock.
Thanks for "clarifying!" I hope you fed that fellow, but only after you watched the telly. And, I just realized you're Irish, so I apologize if my reference to "English lingo" was a faux pas.Doug
No faux pas, je parle beaucoup more French than Irish 
In fact, my Irish is limited to knowing that Ireland welcomes drivers with the sign "Failte" at the border.
In fact, my Irish is limited to knowing that Ireland welcomes drivers with the sign "Failte" at the border.
TheLonelySquire
Vice Admiral
Yeah...in the 70's Trek was on at 6pm in NY. My Dad and Mom were both Nurses (as I am today) and my Dad worked Dayshift and my Mom worked Eves.
I remember my Dad used to take the small B&W TV we had and actually put it on the kitchen table so we could watch Trek while we ate.
Something my Mom would never do...tv during meals was out as far as she was concerned.
So yeah...that was a cool little bonding type experience between me and my Dad. I remember eating alot of chicken cutlets, rice and canned corn... which was pretty much all he was any good at making back then.
-Rabittooth
Channel 9 or 11?
Nardpuncher
Rear Admiral
I watched Trek in the 80s in Winnipeg at 1:00 PM Saturday afternoons, and it was on again at 11:30 PM on Sunday nights, but I'd tape that as I was in junior high. The cool thing is if you tuned your radio to 88FM you could hear CBC TV broadcasting, so I would listen to the Sunday night show in bed. 
I stil have an old cassette from 1988 of I, Mudd.
I stil have an old cassette from 1988 of I, Mudd.
My Dad and I used to watch it on Saturday afternoons. There used to be a 2 or 3 hour long program on WXII, Channel 12 in the early 70's here in Winston-Salem, NC that showed it along with The Invaders and, I think The Twilight Zone. Those are some of my best memories of my Dad. He and I also used to watch old B-movies, like 'It Came From Beneath the Sea" and "The Man From Planet X" (Y'know that little bald spaceman still scares me, but I digress). Then, when I was older, we went to the first 4 Trek movies together at every premiere. I think next Christmas I'll see if he'll go w/me to the premiere of Trek XI. It'd be a nice bookend to those early years.
My earliest memories about Star Trek were before I watched it, so I must have been 6 or 7 (so this would be about 1970-71), and playing at it with friends in the playground. They always wanted me to be Bones, and I wanted to be the monster.
In terms of family...well, I remember reading the first five James Blish books while waiting for my parents in divorce court.
In terms of family...well, I remember reading the first five James Blish books while waiting for my parents in divorce court.
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My Brother and I played trek all the time. He was older, so he and his friends always got to be the big three, while I was usually a redshirt! We had the Mego TOS Communicator walkie-talkies. They had a range of, maybe, 50 feet. Even as little kids we realized that was pretty crappy, but we loved those things to death. We would talk while we rode our bikes around, or ran around the yard playing star trek. I still have those Mego comms today, and they still work. The range has not improved with time!
my parents wouldn't get home till late and we live in one of those rural places where everyone knows everyone. tv was my babysitter. the first episode i remember watching was 'Arena'. i thought, 'the captain is gonna fight this lizard guy? he's nuts!'. after that i was hooked and shortly after Next Gen began.
Pretty sure it was 11 (WPIX ?) I think 9 was WOR back then and didn't run Trek.
-Rabittooth
We didn't have those, but we did cherish two of the Revell model phaser/tricorder/communicator sets.
We kept having to re-glue them over and over. I remember resorting to using some sort of "mix a little of this with a little of that"-type industrial glue on a phaser, an industrial glue meant for bonding steel I had stolen from my father's truck, and it melted the friggin' thing.
I was crushed.
Joe, off to eBay
My earliest memories about Star Trek were before I watched it, so I must have been 6 or 7 (so this would be about 1970-71), and playing at it with friends in the playground. They always wanted me to be Bones, and I wanted to be the monster.
In terms of family...well, I remember reading the first five James Blish books while waiting for my parents in divorce court.
You poor guy - as if the divorce wasn't traumatic enough, you had to read Blish too?
AMT made those kits.
Though they may have been released by Aurora or Revell in other countries, me not know.
Cool thread! Interesting stories ... my experience may be a little different.
I was born in 1970, so I missed the original run, which must have been truly an amazing thing.
But, in '75/'76, the Enterprise was flying high in syndication, and I was watching it here in Jersey on New York's WPIX.
I would watch it with my dad every night at 7 p.m. BUT he drove a truck overnights, and had to go to be early ... at 7:30!
I ended up seeing exactly HALF of every episode, as I'd have to go to bed with him!
I recall having to be dragged away from the Maganvox 19 inch ...
I was born in 1970, so I missed the original run, which must have been truly an amazing thing.
But, in '75/'76, the Enterprise was flying high in syndication, and I was watching it here in Jersey on New York's WPIX.
I would watch it with my dad every night at 7 p.m. BUT he drove a truck overnights, and had to go to be early ... at 7:30!
I ended up seeing exactly HALF of every episode, as I'd have to go to bed with him!
I recall having to be dragged away from the Maganvox 19 inch ...
WPIX was channel 11, WWOR was channel 9. WPIX was the one that ran trek for years and years and years. WWOR did not show trek back then, but actually ran Dr. Who at odd times, usually sunday mornings, where I was able to discover another great show!
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