Why Star Trek?

[Neutral Zone]

I have always wondered why people get wrapped up in Star Trek (and other programmes/films).

For me it was one of the programmes we all watched as a family, when it was first shown here in the UK. I was a child and got fascinated by Sci-fi and Star Trek turned out to be the best in my eyes. So, when the first movie came out in 1979, I was over the moon! Then followed the other movies and series, I realised that I was not the only one who had become addicted to the Trek thing. Fortunately I have a wife who enjoys the Star Trek too!

 

[Kegg]

It was all over TV growing up. The 1990s and space opera was the age of TNG, the shows spawned from TNG, and the shows that wished like hell they had the popularity of TNG (which, naturally, included TNG's progeny).

That and it was just really good. I'm often surprised at exactly how well the better hours of Star Trek still hold up to me.

 

[Mistral]

Its just always been there, all of my life.

 

[Joshua Howard]

Star Trek is different from other things because it has a universally applicable message by design... like a friendly prophecy of our own human future; teaching human values and addressing moral issues, and doing this without embracing extremism or isolationism. It was engineered by someone who believed in it; for Roddenberry, it was more than just a way to make money on TV... and that is what makes all those hours and hours of Star Trek so different. It is change that we can believe in, regardless of Nation, Party, or Religion.

 

[A beaker full of death]

I have always wondered why people get wrapped up in Star Trek (and other programmes/films).

It was better than average, and had the cult appeal of having failed commercially as a series. It seems shows that were as good but much more successful when they were on didn't have that appeal.

 

[Kegg]

I have always wondered why people get wrapped up in Star Trek (and other programmes/films).

It was better than average, and had the cult appeal of having failed commercially as a series. It seems shows that were as good but much more successful when they were on didn't have that appeal.

I think it's the genre more than the fact it was cancelled. Sci-fi tends to attract a cult audience, for whatever reason.

However, it's true there are a lot of cult cancelled sci-fi shows, but I think if one was going to generalise it'd boil down to sci-fi being quite often more expensive than your regular TV show but without significantly higher ratings.

 

[STR]

Well, I'm second generation ST fan. My father loves all of the old-time sci-fi shows (ST, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone), I picked up of ST moreso than the others because it was a more immersive universe. It had its own little rules, its own history, and it was a big world. It makes for a great escape when I want it.

Well see if JJTrek has the gravity to hold me in. JJT is, regardless of what's been stated on and off screen, is a new world. Different rules, different focus, even the characters are pretty different.

 

[Middle Earther]

Star Trek is different from other things because it has a universally applicable message by design... like a friendly prophecy of our own human future; teaching human values and addressing moral issues, and doing this without embracing extremism or isolationism. It was engineered by someone who believed in it; for Roddenberry, it was more than just a way to make money on TV... and that is what makes all those hours and hours of Star Trek so different. It is change that we can believe in, regardless of Nation, Party, or Religion.

I'm going to QFT this. Well said and I share the same sentiments.

 

[QuasarVM]

Why not Star Trek?

It's better than "Let's Make A Deal"...or "The Price Is Right"...

 

[ChristopherPike]

When I was a kid anything seemed possible. Every so often after a really lousy day, it's nice to retreat back to being that kid again and shut out the real world for an hour or two. A large part of this for me is nostalgia. An irony that old episodes of Star Trek or Doctor Who, with its vision of the future are brought to life again... by way of the past.

 

[marylizz]

I grew up with TNG on the tv all the time, and then decided to watch the others, and eventually got wrapped up in the universe of it. To me the trek world is one which is so full of hope and opportunity, it's hard not to find it appealing.

 

[Romulan Ale]

Although I was pretty much Your Average 90's Kid™ in every other respect, I grew up watching TOS reruns and Voyager episodes with my dad. Of course, I didn't understand a thing back then; I rediscovered Trek when I went through my sci-fi phase. And because I had seen it before, I was able to just... jump right in, watch the show properly and analyse its message without having to familiarize myself with the characters or the concept.

I also like the fact that as a whole, Star Trek appeals to many different types of people. My mom enjoys Voyager's morality tales (she will defend Janeway's choices all the way to Sto-vo-kor ). My dad enjoys TOS for the nostalgia factor. My university-age friends enjoyed the lens flares and massive explosions. Me, I like a bit of everything. My point is there are hundreds of hours of Star Trek material so there's bound to be something for everyone.

 

[Ward Fowler]

Why Star Trek? Because I didn't want an easy life as a school kid.

 

[StarryEyed]

For me personally, it's the Secular Humanism credo that we can get better and better and eventually even go to the stars. I was very disappointed in Star Trek: Enterprise (until the excellent 4th season) but unlike most people, I always loved the theme song.

"I have faith to believe, I can do anything."

I've always believed that.

Star Trek is very rare among sci-fi in that it is a very positive view of the future. That's its appeal to me and I would dare guess its the quality which attracts most Star Trek fans.

 

[QuasarVM]

Why Star Trek? Because I didn't want an easy life as a school kid.

Damn...truer words were never typed.

 

[jazzstick]

Why not?
Green chicks, ass kicking, Riker getting more space ass than a toilet seat, Ghag!

Something for everybody!

Ahhh Star Trek!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I dunno what it is about Star Trek. Maybe it's the weird cross between the parts that are believable in the future (humans still act human, everyone likes their cool tech toys) and the stuff that won't happen in a billion years but is fun to see enacted in fiction (humanoid aliens and habitable planets everywhere; the military is a cool NASA/USAF hybrid; the death of religion on Earth and everyone becomes a commie).

 

[Orcus]

Growing up in the seventies, everything made for kids was either Sci-Fi or spooky so we were already conditioned to gravitate to those genres. I was never as into Thunderbirds and Stingray as I was into such things as Dr Who, The Tomorrow People and Star Trek.

Star Trek won out as it was the next best thing on when Dr Who had finished for the season (and I was never banned from watching the former!).

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Star Trek the original series came on when i was ten. I always loved sci-fi, fantasy, horror, those genres. I was different than my friends who favored stuff like I Dream of Jeannie, or other shows that were on at the time. I read comic books like Superman (i had such a marvelous collection, oh i wish i still had it!), Batman, Fantastic Four etc, while my friends read Archie and stuff like that.

Mostly i loved the themes of TOS, the interplay between the characters, and of course, i loved Captain Kirk.

I love reading the replies from younger Trekkies/Trekkers who say that grew up with their parents watching it. I think that is so awesome!

 

[judge alba]

for me i was broght up on the original series when it was on BBC2 (wasnt around for the origninal showing back in the 60's)then tng came out and I wavered a bit thinking it would be crap but once DS9 came out I thought ah that's more like star trek.