The anticipation of a new Star Trek series was both sweet and stressful – and now Marie’s ready to watch Star Trek: Discovery all over again.
But first, some introductions.
I’ve been boldly going since the time when there was only one Star Trek. There was no need to
refer to it as The Original Series, as there was just the one. My first memories of seeing it were at a very young age – my mother had a crush on William Shatner apparently (I know) and so Star Trek was appointment viewing in our house. When the universe finally made the transition to the big screen, guess who was one of the first in line to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture? It was so good to see the crew of the Enterprise in something new again having watched the original 80 episodes multiple times.
After that, it was only logical to dive in to Star Trek: The Next Generation – although it may look dated now, at the time it seemed very modern to me. A brand new science fiction series
with enough of a budget to feel like the scenery wasn’t going to fall down was a gift. The characters were interesting in their own right and worked well as a crew, so it was easy to enjoy. I’m not sure if I am quite prepared to ever choose my favourite Trek captain, but Picard would be very high on the list. Maybe I’ll debate the captains further down the line.
As the series appeared, I watched every episode of Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise – I have a lot of time for Voyager and its female captain. I didn’t always like Janeway, but her situation and leadership challenges were excellent viewing. As for Enterprise, I found it on Netflix recently and started a re-watch. I liked that series a lot more than some people, and I’m happy to admit it. It worked hard to do what Discovery is doing too – instead of continuing the Trek timeline, it is filling in events before any of the other elements of the franchise occurred, and so it has to make sure that all the pieces fall into place in the wider universe.
The only series in the franchise I have yet to pay any attention to is The Animated Series. I’ll openly admit that this is largely because I’m not a fan of cartoons and so I’ve never sought it out. However, if enough of you want to persuade me and can give me some good reasons to do so, then I’ll accept the challenge!
Since Enterprise concluded in 2005, it’s been a TV wilderness for Star Trek. Yes we’ve had movies to look forward to, but Star Trek was originally conceived as a serialised television show with characters that we get to know over a longer period of time, and I missed that regular catch up with my favourite people.
At least with no new series for over a decade, there’s been no worry about whether another
incarnation would mess things up. Or find out that it hasn’t managed to capture the ethos of Starfleet. Or that it’s trying to be funny (yes, I’m looking at you The Orville). While I may have been wistful for new Trek, I’d rather no new series than an unholy mess of one.
And then … Discovery arrived. Now that the dust has settled, and season 2 filming is well underway, I’m ready for a rewatch. Anyone with me?
Hailing frequencies open.
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