Trek Trek: How did your appreciation for ST11 or Trek develop?

[erebus]

This insight by clint g about kids understanding the film got me thinking:

Sure, they probably wont get all that its about but if it is well designed (as was Trek XI) then it could appeal to people on multiple levels. There is stuff for the 5 year olds and stuff for the 50 year olds.

When I think about it some more, if my parents didnt let me watch star trek when I was a 5 year old (even younger actually) I wouldn't be a Trekkie today, and I'm sure the same goes for many other people

So i was wondering how it was for you guys, what got you hooked (or more intrested) in Star Trek and then how did your appreciation develop?

And also do you think the first timers that saw star trek 11 (even the adult viewers), will go through the same kind of journey if star trek continues to be made? Will they go through stages of appreciation and in what order?

I mean a few hardliners seem to be saying that this star trek isn't as subtle as the previous incarnation and so attracted and were liked by the same kind of people (so that includes me as well ).

But maybe the people it attracts will become more conducive to star treks more subtle qualities as time goes on or as they appear in subsequent films/shows as well. Presumably the people first attracted by this first film will see the sequel(s) too.

what do you think?

(for example, for me, when i saw star trek - i was about 10 - it was the excitement of the future and my future job with good friends (didn't quite work out like that unfortunately ) - the thought of meeting aliens and new planets, the cool electronic toys and spaceships. It was only later upon repeat viewings i guess i started to enjoy treks other aspects (like the utopian egalitarianism and celebration of individuality and diversity, the teamwork, the friendships and characters which also came out strongly in the new film for me).

 

[startrekwatcher]

I was first introduced to Trek via TVH back in '86 at the age of 9. I then watched TOS in reruns but TNG will always be my favorite. What really sealed my interest was viewing "The Best of Both Worlds" back in June of 1990. Until this day, I've never been so engrossed by a television episode in my life. I was fascinated by the Borg, the battles, the human drama--it had it all. It was really a major motion picture on the small screen.

And from then on I was hooked. I guess what I liked about TNG in seasons 3-6 was that it wasn't a campy sci-fi show. It had a certain gravitas to it in how the stories were approached. I didn't enjoy DS9 as much but really loved the arcs they did and VOY was disappointing as it came across as TNG-lite--although the years have tempered my opinion of the latter since I can rewatch it with different expectations than I originally had.

I thought ENT had lots of potential but its characters never really connected with me and the first two seasons basically recycled earlier stories that were done better on other Trek series but with the Xindi arc I was tuning back in with excitement.

I would like Trek to return to a weekly tv format. I didn't realize how much I missed a tv series but with the crap that litters tv these days I'm really missing Trek. I don't know who I would want in charge of it, I'm pretty much open to any time period although I wouldn't mind it to be set in the early 25th century and in the prime universe. I'd like it to be heavily serialized maybe adopting a season long arc each year.

 

[erebus]

yeah its intresting that you appreicated the human drama of that episode when you were only 13. i was much older when i saw it, but it was incredible i agree. And to be honest i liked that incarnation of the borg the best because there was no queen to make them 'human' - they were really like a hive mind, an alien frightening disembodied concept and seemingly invincibly determined.

Do you think the current film will affect 13 year old's similarly - perhaps they will see the friendship and teamwork together with the galvanising action and effects?

 

[perigee]

To predicate this, let me tell you folks something you may not have known - and probably won't believe.

In 1931, when Bela Lugosi's "Dracula" premiered, women were fainting in the seats and people were running out of the theater. Any one of you who have actually seen that film knows that it is now the most boring drawing-room twaddle. But to them, there was nothing to compare it to.

When I was a kidling, around 8 or 9, I was watching Trek during the first syndication. Sure - eventually I embraced some of the stories as masterpieces. And certainly, a lot of the lessons taught by the series took root in me - my dad was a workaholic, and the show was kind of a surrogate father figure. But at 8 or 9, it was initially all about these guys in space with this huge ship and cool stuff meeting all these weird aliens and getting in and out of terrible trouble. It was the best I had available. It was the only stuff I had.

Eventually, I really became Ubergeek, hitting two or three cons a year between 73 - 77; I got flared up about the technical aspects of the pseudo-science, the deeper meanings of the stories, even wrote a little fan-fic along the way. Arguments and deep discussions into the night in hotel lobbies and up on the party floor. Then I dropped down to a slightly more rational approach when I hit the real world.

So, as I grew, the other stuff caught hold. But it wouldn't have, if I wasn't hooked initially on the wow factor. And now, MY ten year old is hooked, for exactly the same reasons. He's seeing now what I thought I was seeing back then.

Now, I could look at this new film through my 47-year old eyes and cry and whine about all the terrible things its done to my childhood and a lifetime of Blessed Canon. Or I could look at it through my 26-year-old eyes and bitch about the science and the things they did to the story and characters of the Holy Trinity. I choose just to watch it with my ten-year old eyes and rediscover the gee-whiz wonder that initially brought me into the franchise.

What will my son discover? It depends on what the franchise gives him. If there's no meat put on the bones, the series will probably lose its legs like any action franchise. He'll remember it, hopefully, as His Star Wars Trilogy, instead of those Later-day SW abortions. If they start to get back to roots... maybe he'll be here in my place in 2034.

 

[Peter the Younger]

My mother watched Trek in reruns during the week when my dad worked late; it was on around 6 or 7 PM in our area, and I watched with her. When the Animated Series came on, I watched that, too. I've pretty much been into Trek since I could talk.

Also, I agree with Perigee; I was a canon fanatic at one time, but there was a point at which it became self-defeating. By setting this ultra-high, impassible bar for my entertainment, by focusing on anything they did wrong, I couldn't enjoy what they did right. The truth is, all Star trek - hell, all television series - are full of holes. Life is too short to obsess about it.

 

[An Officer]

I began watching the next generation around 1989, I was nine. I never had much to do after school, so I used to really look forward to star trek. I guess I was a rather lonely only child. It came on once a week on BBC2 at 6pm. It was the best 50 minutes of my entire week. Gaps between seasons were hell. I watched TNG all the way through, and sat down with much anticipation for Voyager, it was disappointing to begin with, but I grew to like it, then it turned kickass unmissable in season four. Half a season of DS9 was all I could stomach, as I really missed the crucial component of deep space exploration in a ship, as apposed to a station. Then I began to try out The Original Series reruns - and that is when my love of Trek for a lifetime became cemented. The humour, and bond between the priciple 3, and the amazing moral tales are some of the most gripping TV that's ever been made, in my humble opinion.

I can hardly believe I've been a fan for 20 years. I don't think another 20 will be hard. I don't see Star Trek going anywhere anytime soon, thanks to this latest installment.

 

[erebus]

Peter the Younger & perigee: hee hee, thanks for that insight. Yes, i think even i forgot that the appreciation can be because nothing touched star trek at that time. It must have been great to take your son to the film and see his reaction, and i think that highlighting the 'wow' factor as an initial hook is a telling point.

 

[erebus]

An Officer: hee hee, thats funny, your experience follows mine most closely. The comradarie in star trek was really something that as kid and even as an adult i've always yearned for. yes, i even hope to enjoy a lifetime of new star trek with luck!

 

[Nerys Myk]

I started watching Trek a kid (about age seven) when it was first broadcast back in the 60s. At seven it was probaby the "monsters" and ray guns that attracted me. The bright colors were cool too. Not sure "the message" of any particular episode sunk in at that age.

We moved to Japan at the end of the 60's so I missed the "end" of Star Trek. By '72 we were back in the States and Star Trek was being rerun locally and I was old enough to get the themes and appreciate the ladies. Bought the Making of Star Trek and read it till it fell apart. My friend was an even bigger fan than me and hade even cooler stuff like models and blueprints. Watched TAS on the weekends too.

By the time of TMP I was somewhat "hardcore". Kirk poster on my door, Bantam novels on my book shelves along with the Blish and Foster epsiode adaptations. Going to Science Fiction films had become an event for my friends and I. We waited in long lines and at time over night to get the best seats. With TMP my best friend had a "brilliant" idea. He would set a record for most veiwings in a row. I of course was corralled into watching with him. Sadly TMP isn't the kind of film thats suited to multiple, consecutive veiwings. But my enthusiasm was not dimminished! I was there for TWOK, TSFS, TVH...then came TFF. Not that great. I had passes and gave them to friends. Most are still friends in spite of that.

Oh well at least there was TNG. Or not. The first season was a bit rough, but I stuck with it. It paid off in the end. Loved DS9, hated Voyager. Liked Enterprise. So Trek became less a "sure bet" for me. But I'll alway be there giving it a chance.

 

[erebus]

Yes, thats a good point about the colours: even now i think they are very striking and iconic. Hee hee, yes the ladies: amazing how tastes and attitudes vary through life . Intresting that you got into star trek big round your teens and also that you returned to it after you left the country and returned: perhaps star trek is part of America for you? I think like that sometimes it is but then star trek does contain much of the ideals of the constitution i guess.

But i think i understand the thread of continuity that keeps you coming back for more through thick and thin.

 

[perigee]

Peter the Younger & perigee: hee hee, thanks for that insight. Yes, i think even i forgot that the appreciation can be because nothing touched star trek at that time. It must have been great to take your son to the film and see his reaction, and i think that highlighting the 'wow' factor as an initial hook is a telling point.

There are No Freaking Words, Erebus. I mean, here's my kid freaking about, "Did you see when Kirk was like, and then Spock said... And then the Enterprise came in and saved Spock!!!!?"

I sure did kiddo... I sure frickin did... all over again. And now you see it too.

 

[erebus]

Peter the Younger & perigee: hee hee, thanks for that insight. Yes, i think even i forgot that the appreciation can be because nothing touched star trek at that time. It must have been great to take your son to the film and see his reaction, and i think that highlighting the 'wow' factor as an initial hook is a telling point.

There are No Freaking Words, Erebus. I mean, here's my kid freaking about, "Did you see when Kirk was like, and then Spock said... And then the Enterprise came in and saved Spock!!!!?"

I sure did kiddo... I sure frickin did... all over again. And now you see it too.

 

[xman]

When I was a kid in the 70's watching TOS in syndication it was simply fantastic and that was enough for a prepubescent boy.

As long as this new Trek remains current and by that I mean responds to the times and the needs of the 21st century viewer it will continue to be watched. If we get another action movie like ST0 (can I call it that?) then people will drift, myself included. What kept this one interesting was the reinterpretation. That's gone now so the next movie must step up a little.

X

 

[USSPhilippi]

I was born in 1970. I was aware of Trek from early on, saw TMP in the theater. I missed TWOK in its initial run, but then I saw TSFS with my sisters on its initial release in '84 - the first movie that I saw in a theater without parental accompaniment, IIRC. It was really The Voyage Home, however, that turned me into a Trekkie, and then when TNG premiered the following year, it became a weekly ritual for me.

I've seen every episode of TNG, but I missed significant sections of VOY and DS9, and most of the first three seasons of ENT, due to various factors which I will not go into detail on here. I am currently revisiting DS9 via Netflix, currently working on season 2.

 

[Rii]

During Reception and Year 1 at school we had to keep an "On the Weekend" diary. One of my entries, written at age 6, reads "I watched Star Trek. It was good."

My handwriting has only deteriorated since then.

 

[erebus]

xman yes, i know what you mean by fantastic: it really was a whole new world and eye widening for a youngster. Star Trek, replete with human aspirations and inclusive ideals, will probably be always relevant at some level. Cleverly the ST11-makers have for many taken the torch and challenge and ran with it. I would venture the future bodes well for Trek

USSPhilippi hee hee, yeah ST4 was definently the fun film but cleverly including an universally relatable message. Some great quotable lines. I definently know what you mean about revisiting Trek, i feel i'm forever dipping into it myself and amazing myself with some new aspect or just basking in its glory. Enjoy your exploratiion.

Rii Probably of the best review and continuing justification for star trek ever penned.

 

[erebus]

So, so far in this thread it does seem to confirm that star trek can appeal to many levels (including emotional) which can live in parallel and be continually discovered; and that the ST11-makers with their graded mix of star-trek experience hit the right mix too and gained a mandate to flesh star trek themes out in future film(s).

They have made a film that can be a departure point for many and especially those people (young or old) who are excited about the future and how great it can be, and find their own museings about how the present is contributing to that vision (or not) reflected in the show.

Its intresting that most of us seem to be able to identify a turning point, sometime during watching and reflection.

But since they can capture a diversity of people, Trek will be subject to a diversity of influence, making for a rich increasingly adaptive development: Accessiblity is definently a factor in Star Trek's survival.

Also i find it very hard to not like a Trekker

End of speech . Its a very warming prospect

 

[erebus]

Hmm, so now i'm thinking is the appeal of star trek over such diverse peoples because musing about the future in a self-consistent fashion informs people about the nature of the present: that they are intrested in seeing if the future is recognisably representitive of themselves in that time as extrapolated from their present selves?

Facinating...^ ^

 

[Silent_Bob]

I began watching the next generation around 1989, I was nine. I never had much to do after school, so I used to really look forward to star trek. I guess I was a rather lonely only child. It came on once a week on BBC2 at 6pm. It was the best 50 minutes of my entire week. Gaps between seasons were hell. I watched TNG all the way through, and sat down with much anticipation for Voyager, it was disappointing to begin with, but I grew to like it, then it turned kickass unmissable in season four. Half a season of DS9 was all I could stomach, as I really missed the crucial component of deep space exploration in a ship, as apposed to a station. Then I began to try out The Original Series reruns - and that is when my love of Trek for a lifetime became cemented. The humour, and bond between the priciple 3, and the amazing moral tales are some of the most gripping TV that's ever been made, in my humble opinion.

I can hardly believe I've been a fan for 20 years. I don't think another 20 will be hard. I don't see Star Trek going anywhere anytime soon, thanks to this latest installment.

Similar story to you, except i was 6 when i started watching TNG on BBC 2. In hindsight, that probably wasnt my parents best decision ever. I had nightmares for months about the parasite aliens from Conspiracy, going so far as to insist that my parents put gaffer tape on the back of my neck so they couldnt take me over.

DS9 didnt appeal to me at first, really thought the first season was poor. Thankfully i stuck around and it became my favourite Star Trek. I was fairly disappointed with Voyager, giving up the regular BBC2 viewings to watch Babylon 5 instead on Channel 4.

With TOS i actually saw the films first, when i was about ten. The BBC then started re-running it on Sunday mornings along with The Animated Series, after This Morning With Richard Not Judy (God i miss the Curious Orange), which is when i got hooked on the Big Three.

I'm not as big of a trekkie as i used to be, preferring other franchises. But i still get a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever i hear the opening lines of Star Trek, or see the Enterprise on screen. Even with the new version, didnt much care for the ships design but i still got that little rush when the name was unveiled.

With the new film i was disappointed, but i will be sticking with the franchise anyway. Afterall i didnt like DS9 at first, so who's to say i wont love the sequel.

 

[erebus]

yes, i forget how surreal Star Trek can be. I loved Babylon 5! i appreciate the point about increasing competition. I guess some of the themes in Star Trek do exist in many other shows and its possible that this recent success will inspire others too.