So, what got you into Trek? And what does it mean to you

[NCC-1701-B]

Firstly, this has probably been asked a million times, but humour me I know for a whole bunch of people this will be seeing it first time round or through reruns on TV, but mainly this is for the younger group of people here. For me, Trek had always been on TV, my dad being a fan, so I saw TNG, DS9 and VOY on the BBC during the late 90s and early 2000s. And my older brother had some of the playmates toys too, I had a the borg cube playset. So it was always there, though I never took too much notice and wasn't what you'd call a fan. When it all really started for me, was when moving house in late 2004, I found my dads half finished AMT Enterprise model kit, and Voyager was on Virgin One (a channel that no longer exists) so I started watching through voyager, which got me through some awful times at school, I was bullied and it was just not a pleasant time for me. So getting home for 4pm and escaping into this new universe was just perfect. I honestly don't know where I'd be now if it weren't for Trek.

So how about you? My apologies if this isn't entirely coherent I've been on the sauce...

 

[VulcanMindBlown]

I saw TNG in the 8th Grade back probably in 2006 when it aired on G4.

It was amazing, a show that posed philosophical questions, entertaining science fiction, developed characters and cultures as it went along, and showed lots of action (well not compared to other Star Trek shows.

 

[BillJ]

At 5, as an escape from an abusive parent.

 

[Hawku]

Through my dad as well. It was always a weekly after-dinner tradition to sit and watch an episode of TNG, DS9 or VOY.

 

[StarLore]

One night I was bored. So I scrolled through Netflix, not expecting to find anything, when I came upon The Original Series. I had watched some of it before when I was younger, but never seriously considered it. Anyways, I turned on "The Man Trap", and was hooked.

The next thing you know, I am already on Season 5 of TNG.

 

[GeordiFan]

Ive been watching Star Trek TNG for literally as long as I can remember. My mom used to watch it, she was a casual fan, and I usually joke and say she didnt know what she was getting herself into lol because I became a huge Trek fan. From there I branched into TOS, when I was still young, we'd rent the movies from the video store...mostly TUC and TFF...and I was about 5 or 6 when I began watching the Original Series. Voyager came along when I was 11, and just last year I finally got into DS9, which I never really cared for up until last year when I watched it through for the first time.

 

[Tracy Trek]

I'm not sure I can explain it. It just captured my imagination.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"Mirror, Mirror"

 

[Willow]

Grew up in the 70s watching re-runs of TOS. And TNG got me through college. Not only was it a good escape from homework, but I enjoyed most of the characters and storylines. I watched a few of the original movies. I was never a Trekkie, even though I enjoyed the shows. DS9 was hit and miss because life got in the way.

But then, I happened across Enterprise on Netlix a few years ago, and gave it a go because I am a Scott Bakula fan. Then I was hooked!

I watched VOY, but I strugglled to get through the later seasons . In fact, I'd go to Memory Alpha and read the synopses to determined which shows I'd actually "watch". im probably a minority in that I really didn't like 7 of 9, but I liked Tom Paris and Harry Kim.

ENT is my favorite.,it has my favorite characters. But I have a soft spot for TNG.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Watched TOS off and on as a kid in the 60's. Probably preferred Batman, though. Discovered it again in reruns as teenager and really got hooked. Bought the Making of Star Trek and wore it out. Read all the Blish adaptations, which influenced my recollections of some episodes. Even today I'm discovering things that weren't in the episodes. The movies started coming out while I was in College. So they were big events for me and my nerd friends. Which often meant waiting in line overnight to see the first showing on the first day. Or scoring passes for press screening and sneak previews. I followed the new shows when they appeared. Lost interest in Voyager about half way through. Came back for Enterprise. Really like the new films and am looking forward to Discovery.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Loved it as a kid, but me mum hated it. If something annoyed the parents, it was valid, just for that. What does STAR TREK mean to me, now? TNG's quite satisfying - on many levels! Particularly, the fun of nostalgia. Gene Roddenberry is a Man I deeply admire for his fortitude as a WWII pilot and then, later, as a policeman and later, still, as an International Celebrity. His courage, drive and imagination are inspiring, to me.

 

[Trek Survivor]

I was 9 years old in 1989. Aware of Star Trek, mostly through the movies. As a family, we usually hired a video every Friday night. On a whim, my brother & I chose TNG "Encounter At Farpoint" and I thought it was really good!

However, it wasn't until the following year when BBC2 started screening TNG on a weekly basis (September 1990). This run, as well as the accompanying but short-lived Marvel comic, made me the huge fan I am.

What does it mean to me? Well, it's fun entertainment - at its best, Trek has good stories which are engaging to watch/read etc. I think the vision of a positive future - whilst I didn't pay it too much heed in my youth - resonates more strongly with me now at the age of 35 as well.

 

[retroenzo]

I've mentioned it elsewhere in the forum but my intro into Trek was through my grandmother. I remember coming home from school and she would be watching the original series. In all honesty, it didn't interest me at the time (sorry) but I was into sci-fi as I remember watching Doctor Who and Knight Rider at the time.

It must have made some kind of an impression though as we rented Encounter at Farpoint when it came out on video and I loved it. I also saw Datalore but then, like Trek Survivor, I didn't see anything else until the BBC started showing it in the UK - September 1990. I watched it every week with no breaks for series. BBC2 ran it every week (barring replacements for sports) until Best of Both Worlds, Part 2 when they announced that Star Trek would be back later in the year.

I was hooked and couldn't wait for it to return.

When it did return later in the year though, they repeated the original series instead. Initially I was really disappointed as I remembered not liking it when I was little. However, I did record every episode and stocked up a supply of VHS tapes so I could watch them again. I still have the video tapes from the early 90s, although I no longer have a VCR to play them on. My love of Star Trek (and Red Dwarf) got me to go to conventions in the mid 90s. I started going to a local Star Trek group and met my first girlfriend there. Star Trek turned me into a more sociable person as I was quite a withdrawn person as a kid and in my teens. I had friends, but they felt more like people I knew from school. Star Trek introduced me to some of my oldest, dearest and best friends.

So that's what Star Trek now means to me. Entertainment, escapism and friendship.

 

[Tosk]

Dad took me to see III and IV in the cinema. Then TNG started a while after that, cementing what the movies began. What does it mean for me? I dig it. It's a fun hobby, plenty of good TV to rewatch, and an easy way to spend money or plastic garbage.

 

[Captain April]

Started watching reruns of TOS in the 70's as a child. I've always been enamoured of anything having to do with space and science fiction and Star Trek was a perfect mesh for me.

 

[Jedi_Master]

It was the only show that everybody liked in prison.

 

[The Wormhole]

Cool spaceships

 

[Balok's Decoy]

The rest of my family were always more interested in Star Wars and less so in Star Trek (even though they're totally different), but my dad did have the six TOS films in a VHS box set. I loved that collection when I was a kid -- very young, I'd guess about 5 years old, since that particular set came out around 1993. I was particularly fond of WoK and TUC, and even TMP, and that hasn't changed much. My parents say that I used to run around the house screaming, "KHAAAN!!!" So, yeah, it started there.

 

[Vorpal_Blade]

I watched it with my Dad. We also used to watch Lost in Space.

 

[ItIsGreen]

Like a lot of folks, through my dad. When I was very young I used to go with the 'popular' opinion that Star Trek was a bit naff and boring and didn't really pay it much attention, and may have even taken the mickey out of him a little for watching it. I can't remember how it came about but I ended up seeing a few episodes of TOS with him, and maybe one of the movies being shown on TV, and I slowly started to enjoy it. Then TNG came out (as @Trek Survivor says above, in 1990 for us Brits) and that was it, I was hooked for life.