One time, some years ago, I was at a party. I found myself seated in a large
circle with a bunch of people, half of whom I hardly knew, when the conversation
turned to old TV shows. One gentleman, a complete and utter moron whose name I
have forgotten, stated that he
was once a huge fan of Star Trek. However, that was back when he was a kid in
the 1960s. But when he watched it again recently, he hated it. He made fun of
the cheap looking sets, the silly costumes, and the dopey looking special
effects. When several Trek fans in the crowd tried to defend the original
series, he loudly proclaimed that Star Trek was no longer relevant to anybody or
anything in the modern day world. "I used to like Star Trek…a lot," he said, his
head bobbing up and down, as if this would somehow legitimatize his point, "but NO
MORE!"
When the rest of us merely stared at him with the same interest as watching
grass grow, he then proceeded to repeat his last statement, once more, and then
a third time--apparently with the belief that if people don't get the little
punch line of a joke that is funny only to you, it is best to keep repeating the
punch line, over and over, until they realize what a great and mighty wit you are.
Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, and transformed into an amazing,
worldwide cult phenomenon by a brilliant team of actors, writers and behind the
scenes craftspeople, still endures to this very day. And the main reason it does endure is because it speaks to people on a very basic level. Keep in mind that when Star Trek originally aired, back in the 1960s, the world was a pretty frightening place. The Cold War was in full swing, we were escalating our involvement in Vietnam, and Chinese and Russian troops engaged in full scale combat with each other during several scary incidents in what their respective governments delicately referred to as "boarder skirmishes". If it ever looked as if the world would come to an end, the late sixties certainly appeared to be that time.
And along comes a TV series called Star Trek, with its message of hope, and
peace--not only among the varied humans of Earth, but among the people of the
stars, as well. Plus, it made the overwhelming point that said: we will still be
here. Sure, the human race will see some hard times, but we will make it, we
will survive and flourish as we explore the majesty and wonders of interstellar
space. It is no surprise that Star Trek has inspired people to become astronauts,
doctors, engineers, and sometimes just to be better people overall. This series
forcefully put forward a positive message in a bleak world where that very sort
of thing seemed sappy.
And regarding that twit's statement about Star Trek no longer being relevant,
well, think about it. Sure, the Cold War is over, the Russians are our friends,
and the Chinese may be more capitalist than we are. But the terrible events of
September 11, 2001 appeared to have ushered in a new dark age for humankind.
Man's inhumanity to his fellow man is still the big news of the day, and one
still wonders, as they watch the latest terror alert on the evening news, if we
will ever learn to live together in peace. And once more, along comes the
original Star Trek--this time released in a DVD box set of the first season--to
remind us to hang in there, keep the faith, and that no matter how bleak things
may seem, human beings will ultimately work together to solve the problems of
the day. The future is coming, and we are building the foundation for it every
day with our hard work and optimism.
The first season DVD set of Star Trek includes such classic episodes as Space
Seed, Balance Of Terror, Devil In The Dark, and City On The Edge Of Forever. The
picture and sound are marvelous-it's presented in 5.1-surround sound for the
first time. It comes equipped with several behind the scenes features that are
new to this DVD edition. Long-time Trek production designer Mike Okuda has
informative text commentary on selected episodes. The final disc contains five
documentaries: "The Birth Of A Timeless Legacy", "Life Beyond Trek: William
Shatner", "To Boldly Go…(Season One", "Reflections On Spock" and "Sci-Fi
Visionaries". There's also a photo log, and the original promotional trailers.
So boldly go where no man has gone, and let Star Trek help keep your eyes on the
big picture. --SF
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