What To Get The Most Successful Franchise On Earth For Its Birthday?
I seem to be encountering a lot of birthdays lately. I tried to get an iPod for my mother (who's 21 and a bit), but that backfired slightly since she is to technology what I am to child bearing: useless. Some of my siblings' birthdays are easier (and there are two in September): get them random crap, a video game, a card or whatever, they're happy, and I'm happy.
But the really big birthday on my calendar is Star Trek, which hits the big four-oh on this very day, September 8, which marks the airing of the first episode in 1966. To celebrate here on TwitchGuru, we're going to be giving you a series of articles on Star Trek over the years. I warn you, it's going to get geeky in here: we've got a feature looking at the expanded universe in the form of Trek fiction, we'll be looking at Star Trek and video gaming, and going so far as to don our pointy ears and have a serious debate about how to rank the greatness of the ten Star Trek movies.
I know that many of you reading this are Star Trek fans - or at least casually interested in the series - as I've found over the past month of preparing for this birthday bonanza. What has amazed me the most has been the sheer number of positive memories that people have associated with Star Trek. These range from people who remember it as their first experience of television, to those who have met and married their loved ones through a shared interest in Trek.
Kids love it too; indeed, I dare say that Star Trek is timeless. Introduce small children to The Original Series and they won't care about the slightly campy nature, the (now) bad special effects and the straightforward storylines. They'll thrive on it, more so than the more complex episodes of later series.
Then move them on to the movies, and then The Next Generation and beyond, and you have more Star Trek fans in the works. The Wrath of Khan may be the fan favorite, but as I know from experience it's "the one with the whales!" that our young acquaintances remember best.
I have very fond memories of Star Trek from when I was growing up, and also into my adult life. New episodes, new books and new films have been nearly ubiquitous over the past 40 years, and have formed as much a part of my life as any other positive ongoing experience. But enough about me... I want to hear more about you! When did you first encounter Star Trek? What have your experiences of it been like? Come on people, tell me so that I can tell the world. We've had 40 magical years of memories, trials and [Don't say it -Ed] tribble-ations [Groan -Ed].
Meanwhile, over the coming weeks, we're going to be sharing our insights into and memories of the Star Trek universe, and those of the people closely associated with it. We do hope you enjoy...
Related Articles:
Set Phasers To Arial: Celebrating 40 Years of Star Trek Fiction
The Best - And Worst - Of Star Trek Movies
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