To Boldy Go...

In keeping with our 40th anniversary of Star Trek here at Frontiers, I will also add my feelings and thoughts on the franchise. I know you'll love it...

I was first introduced to Star Trek around 1988, at the wee age of three. My dad would watch reruns of the original series and the new episodes of The Next Generation. As a child, it was the original show that fascinated me. I can remember watching the heroic Captain Kirk struggle against a terrifying lizard alien and thinking to myself. I love this; that is what I want to do.

Now what does that mean? Star Trek has inspired me to be a writer, an actor, a philosopher, and more simply, a human being. Those original episodes thought me so much about who we are as humans and what we can do. To this day, the original show has probably influenced me more than anything. I loved TNG, but I don't care what anyone says, it was a much weaker show in terms of characters and story. It was virtually impossible to relate to these people that didn't seem real. That's probably why I connected with Deep Space Nine more, it told real stories about real characters about things we could relate to and care about...and besides, it was damn entertaining.

Voyager and Enterprise, sadly, became more standardized popcorn science fiction and lost some of the imagination and depth that the other shows had. But the Star Trek franchise is almost microcosm for the human soul and it too has it moments of faltering. That's why I still don't doubt where the franchise can go because it is a growing show about life...something sadly missing from entertainment today.

So, here's to you Trek and Gene Roddenberry for having this remarkable vision. May the great bird of galaxy bless you all!