Star Trek at 60: Reflections from a Star Wars Fan
It’s no secret that I am a huge Star Wars fan. I share my love of the franchise proudly and loudly and wear my fandom on my sleeve. Quite literally. I have dozens and dozens of Star Wars shirts, hats, hoodies, and more. I have a HUGE collection of toys, some from my childhood collection, most from my adult fandom. I’ve seen every movie and show and love them all. I share the fandom with my family, my kids, my friends, anyone who will listen.
What you may not know is that I am also a HUGE Star Trek fan. In fact, as Tre celebrates its 60th anniversary today and Star Wars turns 50 next year, I’ve been a Star Trek fan longer than I’ve been a Star Wars fan. I watched the Original Series with my dad and saw The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan, and Search for Spock with him in theaters; I watched all of The Next Generation with my step-brother, and I’ve stayed pretty up to date with the shows. The biggest difference in my fandom is that I never felt the need to collect Trek merchandise, and most of my crew are Star Wars fans first, though I am friends with plenty of Trek fans as well.
I fondly remember watching TOS with my dad. It was compelling stuff to a little kid. Spaceships, monsters, aliens, cool outfits, ray guns- of course, I missed the political and social subtext; I’d pick that up with TNG, but Trek appealed to all the things that I loved as a kid. I was a bit older when Star Wars came out, and something about the adventure, characters, ships, and story hit me hard. It didn’t help that, as a kid, Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit like a snooze fest to me.
My fandoms were pretty much parallel, though. As each new Trek movie or show hit, I was there. In the break between the Holy Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy, Trek was there for me - in reruns, in TNG, and on the big screen.
It was The Next Generation that really appealed to me. Having a whole new set of characters on a new, sleeker Enterprise was so much fun. The music, the visuals, and the atmosphere were all perfect. But it was the underlying subtext, the social utopia a post-war, space-faring Federation was trying to build. The diversity represented in the cast and crew. Peace, love, acceptance, and yes, the occasional space battle and scary alien surely helped. But it was the message that anyone can belong, that anyone can dream, that anyone can win that really appealed to me. It was serious, sophisticated, and intelligent. Data and Spock appealed to the more logical and scientific part of my brain. Kirk and Picard were strong men, but also gentle-hearted, loyal, and brave. Women were represented as part of the crew. White, Black, Asian, alien, and other groups were represented. TNG eventually leaned more into its action side, particularly in the movies and on the show after the Borg were introduced, but it never lost its core message of hope, unity, peace and curiosity.
Curiosity, intense curiosity, was always key to Star Trek. It’s what led humans to unite and eventually explore the universe after the war. It’s what led them to seek out new life and new civilizations. Curiosity led our intrepid heroes to the edge of the galaxy and beyond. And that really appealed to me. Being curious, wanting to explore, to learn more about ourselves and the world or galaxy around us. Wanting to connect with others and show the best of humanity. Striving to be better for ourselves, our planet, and the worlds yet to be discovered.
Sure, there were conflicts, enemies, and wars. While humanity and the aliens that joined the Federation strived for greatness, it was our humanity itself that would lead us to stumble and fail. Yet, these characters never gave up. Win or lose, they’d get up, straighten their uniforms, and move forward. Hopeful.
The future presented in Star Trek was fantastic and infinite. It was both believable and unbelievable, but grounded in hope.
Before Rebecca and I were married, we stood in line for tickets to Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. On our honeymoon, we visited the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas. My children and my friends filled theaters on the opening night of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. My friend Bryan and I saw The Wrath of Khan with Bill Shatner speaking afterward. My daughter and I recently saw The Mandalorian and Grogu several times in the theater. Both of these franchises have fulfilled a need of mine. Both have been omnipresent in my life. Both have been interconnected with my friendships. I guess Star Wars fills my need for a sense of adventure, and Star Trek fills my need for a sense of hope and wonder.
As Star Trek turns 60, I want to be clear: I am a Star Trek fan. I may not have the toys, shirts, merch, or memorabilia. I’v not been to a Star Trek convention, but I am a fan and I am glad to have had these stories in my life then, now, and always.
I’ll end this treatise with one of my favorite quotes of all time from Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek Generations. A quote that I think encapsulates what Star Trek is all about and what we, as fans, are meant to take away from the franchise: “Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived. After all, Number One, we're only mortal."
Live long and prosper…