How/when did you become a Trekkie/Trekker/Star Trek fan?

[Greg Cox]

I will also be a fan long after death.

The thng I'm really looking forward to is seeing the latest movie (probably the fourth reboot or something) seventy or eighty years from now for free, because, as a spirit, nobody will know I'm there.

And I won't be limited to whatever candy or drinks the theater sells, I can bring m own, and make it whatever I want.

Strange but true: The first story I ever sold for cash ($55!) was about a dead STAR WARS fan whose restless spirit could not depart the Earth until he saw REVENGE OF THE JEDI (as we expected it to be called back then), so he ends up haunting his favorite movie theater.

This was back around 1983, naturally.

 

[Kadratis]

I was born a fan. The really odd thing is that no one in my family likes Trek to the extreme that I do.

 

[RandyS]

The thng I'm really looking forward to is seeing the latest movie (probably the fourth reboot or something) seventy or eighty years from now for free, because, as a spirit, nobody will know I'm there.

And I won't be limited to whatever candy or drinks the theater sells, I can bring m own, and make it whatever I want.

Strange but true: The first story I ever sold for cash ($55!) was about a dead STAR WARS fan whose restless spirit could not depart the Earth until he saw REVENGE OF THE JEDI (as we expected it to be called back then), so he ends up haunting his favorite movie theater.

This was back around 1983, naturally.

Huh, I'd like to read that. Where was it published?

 

[bbjeg]

I was born a fan, being that my father was a TOS fan. Though I was born during TNG's run, I've been watching trek for as long as I can remember.

 

[Greg Cox]

The thng I'm really looking forward to is seeing the latest movie (probably the fourth reboot or something) seventy or eighty years from now for free, because, as a spirit, nobody will know I'm there.

And I won't be limited to whatever candy or drinks the theater sells, I can bring m own, and make it whatever I want.

Strange but true: The first story I ever sold for cash ($55!) was about a dead STAR WARS fan whose restless spirit could not depart the Earth until he saw REVENGE OF THE JEDI (as we expected it to be called back then), so he ends up haunting his favorite movie theater.

This was back around 1983, naturally.

Huh, I'd like to read that. Where was it published?

"Empty Screen Lament," FANTASY BOOK magazine, May 1983.

And, yes, I cringe a bit at that rather pompous title now. I would've gone with something breezier these days. "The Phantom Fanboy" or something like that.

And please remember that I was only a kid back then. I like to think that I've learned a thing or two about writing over the last thirty years!

 

[Hatshepsut]

I will also be a fan long after death.

I like, though don't share, this optimism. I'm not a Trekkie as some of my friends were. Willingness to spend serious money on Star Trek evaded me, besides that I may not be too compatible personality-wise at a convention. But when in syndication circa 1975, it was virtually the only action-adventure that wasn't drivel. It freely came from an American conformist point of view while declining the open hostility toward alternative views that characterized much of early TV. I'm watching it again now because I won't be able to do so once the small issue of mortality deals me the cards already distributed to most of the original crew.

 

[IrishNero]

I was introduced to Trek by my stepfather when I was about 5 or 6 years old. Watched every one of TOS episodes. It was different from everything else on TV at the time (mostly westerns and police dramas. Then Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and TMP. came out in rapid-fire succession, and I was hooked.

 

[KimMH]

TOS/TAS. Back when TOS/TAS were the only choices.

The TOS reruns were my gateway drug in the 70s but I've gone onto the TrekLit universe which is a much bigger sandbox than I ever anticipated. I remember the old Trek books about crystalline spiders who were mathematicians and Enterprise being in love with Kirk and all. Trek Lit has only gotten better and mind bendy-er and I look forward to many more years of fandom via the lit-verse.

And please remember that I was only a kid back then. I like to think that I've learned a thing or two about writing over the last thirty years!

As the Great Bird of the Galaxy is my witness!

 

[martok2112]

I was introduced to Trek by my stepfather when I was about 5 or 6 years old. Watched every one of TOS episodes. It was different from everything else on TV at the time (mostly westerns and police dramas. Then Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and TMP. came out in rapid-fire succession, and I was hooked.

Two things I loved about weekends in 1978:
Jason of Star Command on Saturday mornings. And Battlestar Galactica on Sunday nights.

 

[RandyS]

Strange but true: The first story I ever sold for cash ($55!) was about a dead STAR WARS fan whose restless spirit could not depart the Earth until he saw REVENGE OF THE JEDI (as we expected it to be called back then), so he ends up haunting his favorite movie theater.

This was back around 1983, naturally.

Huh, I'd like to read that. Where was it published?

"Empty Screen Lament," FANTASY BOOK magazine, May 1983.

And, yes, I cringe a bit at that rather pompous title now. I would've gone with something breezier these days. "The Phantom Fanboy" or something like that.

And please remember that I was only a kid back then. I like to think that I've learned a thing or two about writing over the last thirty years!

Eh. I was also a kid back then. I was 13 when Return of the Jedi came out, and do, in fact, remember when it was called Revenge of the Jedi, although I didn't learn the reason for the name change until years later.

I like "older" stories, ones that don't need knowledge of 15 different things going in.

 

[hux]

I think I came to Trek fairly late. Back in the 90's when Voyager was on BBC2. That show was the one that really sucked me in and made me buy the boxette. Once I'd watched it all the way through, I then bought TNG, then DS9, then the original series, then all the films then finally Enterprise

I now recognise DS9 as by far the most accomplished series but Voyager remains my favourite (despite it's many flaws). It's like first love. She turned out to be an ugly bitch but because she was my first love, I can't help but see her as beautiful and perfect

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

TNG re-runs at dinner when I was a wee little munchkin. I didn't choose the Trek life, the Trek life chose me.

 

[eyeresist]

I selected "The Movies (I-X)", but in fact the process was gradual.

1. I saw some TOS episodes when I was young and was interested in the characters and setting, though I think even then the cheesiness and some of the lesser episodes turned me off. I think I saw the first two movies on TV and enjoyed them.

2. A major turning point was reading about the upcoming third film in New Voyager magazine, studying the pictures and being fascinated by the sfx details. I remember it was printed in white on a black starfield, which with my young eyes I found quite readable.
I think I saw TSFS in the cinema, and TFF, which I liked better, though they both made a strong impression.
I didn't like TNG, and found DS9 interesting in its first seasons but too inconsistent. But this led to my next turning point, prompted by a DS9 episode.

3. I really disliked the portrayal of Vulcans in that episode (which I think must have been Field Of Fire), and eventually realised that I must be some sort of fan if I knew and cared that much about such an issue.

4. Enterprise. Admittedly inconsistent, this was the first series where I didn't have to mentally compensate for TV budget sets and fx. I also found the characters more relatable than the pontificators of previous Berman shows, and the cartoon characters of TOS. As with the Vulcan issue above, I found myself contemplating matters of world-building in relation to various iterations of Trek, which ENT developed in various ways. The fact that the series was cut short also stirred my imagination in a way the previous complete or episodic series didn't. Which all led to:

5. Joining a Star Trek forum. Which is where we came in.

 

[Smellincoffee]

In 1992 I was hospitalized for three weeks after a trampoline accident. I watched a LOT of TV while in traction, and saw loads and loads of Star Trek. The original, that is. To this date I associate the sounds of hospitals with Star Trek. A few years later I started calling myself a Trek fan because they were nerdy and unpopular, and that's just the way I liked myself, by God. Then I stumbled upon DS9, broadcasting on CBS, and managed to read the books being released in Walmart. TNG I saw in bits and pieces,. I don't know when actual devotion to the show replaced devotion-for-cred, but it was solidly in the 1990s and owes to DS9. I was awed by the fact that the storylines were on serious subjects, with IDEAS being bandied about.

 

[Captain Rob]

I became a fan as a little kid back in the early 70's.
I remember coming home from elementary school and turning the TV on for after school cartoons. This was way back when there was only five TV channels (ABC, CBS, NBS ,an independent station, and PBS). One station had on this silly show that was hosted by the backup weather guy called "Dialing For Dollars". Which featured old movies.
Then a new UHF station came to town. The first UHF station in the area. it was owned by the 700 Club. Boring as hell. But at 4:00 PM it started running this interesting show called "Star Trek".

 

[BeatleJWOL]

I was born in June of '87 so I'm just a hair older than TNG grew up watching bits and pieces of TNG but my first real introduction was at a parents' friend's house where they had the VHS of Wrath Of Khan.
Around that time I received (which I still have, complete with Merry Christmas post-it note from Dad) a copy of the Star Trek Encyclopedia, soon to be followed by the Chronology and the Next Generation companion (V2, apparently!)

So I read about more Star Trek than I had ever seen at that point. Ended up with the movies on VHS, but not widescreen, sadly (later fixed with the Director's Cut DVD purchases )

From there it went on to TOS DVDs, TNG DVDs and finally a nearly complete TOS/TNG/Films Blu-ray collection. (nearly cause, uh, I'm not paying full price for TNG season 2 )

Now I'm hooked; few tshirts, a pile-o-books, and glorious (and occasionally less-than-glorious-but-still-awesome) HD of what's out there so far...

 

[IrishNero]

Fandom has been an on-off thing for me. I watched TOS as a kid, then started watching TNG when it came out. I watched DS9, then I stopped watching again until I got a cassette tape from a friend while I was stationed in Turkey in the early 2000s that contained episodes of 'Enterprise,' so I watched those and liked it. Then I started to circle back and watch more DS9 and VOY episodes. It wasn't until about 2007 that I could have proclaimed to have seen everything Star Trek. Sadly, that is still true 8 years later, but there is so much ST material available that I can go back and watch older episodes and still learn something new.

 

[Cyke101]

Star Trek V, though I knew at that early age about TNG.

Yeah, I acknowledge how badly it was made now, but back then the ship was great and the action stood out, so it still holds my place as merely the third worst Trek film ever

On another note, Sulu was an early influence on me. My classmates and I all played pretend-Star Trek on the playground, and when the roles were handed out (obviously the most charismatic and most popular kid got to play... Spock), I was the only Asian boy in class, so naturally I was Sulu. At first I was confused, but when I rewatched it, I noticed he was a man of action. He got to shoot bad guys and drive the shuttle, so I was more than okay with that. Plus, he was one of the few Asians in movies who didn't talk like my immigrant relatives, nor was he meek or villainous like many other Asians in movies at the time. So to me he was an anomaly who stood out.

After watching more and more Trek, my favorite TOS officer ended up becoming McCoy, but Sulu got to me first.

 

[eyeresist]

Man, I wish I could have played Star Trek at school.

 

[IrishNero]

We played Battlestar Galactica (TOS). For some reason, Star Trek seemed really 'old' to us in the late 70s, though Star Trek TOS seems to have aged better. I'd play Star Trek now, if I had a chance, and if my co-workers wouldn't think I'd lost my mind.