For years, whenever conversations turned to the subject of my dorkiness, I could defend myself by saying, "Yeah, I'm a nerd, but at least I'm not the lame kind. I mean, I don't watch Star Trek or anything."
Over the last week or two, that last line of defense has been steadily eroding away beneath my feet. I've had a growing interest in the show, fueled by my discovery of a great clip of Patrick Stewart on the BBC show Extras and The Picard Song by DarkMateria. I've started watching an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation here and there, and I've been finding that I like it quite a bit. I think my downfall was made official today when I went to Blockbuster and picked up the first Star Trek movie. I've become one of them.
One thing that surprises me is how little the plots have to do with science. The show is set on a starship, of course, and they do throw out technical terms from time to time, but a large majority of the storylines deal with human (OK, or humanoid) interactions, social psychology, etc. The main conflicts seldom revolve around technology. It's a human drama that happens to be set in space. Which is certainly not unheard of, but I wouldn't have expected it from the show that defines the stereotype of science fiction.
From what little I've seen so far, I tend to have a preference for the TNG series. The single episode of Deep Space 9 I saw didn't appeal to me much, and it seems the original series with William Shatner is no longer aired — at least, not on any channel we get.
Part of the reason I rented the movie is to see good old Shatner in action. I always hear people joke about his overacting and dramatic delivery, and I want to see it for myself. I have a feeling I'll still have a preference for Picard over Kirk, but that might just be because William Shatner once killed my father.
Posted by Jenn 30 minutes later
As someone who used to LOVE Star Trek, I feel compelled to relay my thoughts. :) TNG was always my favorite, because the crew was always the most enjoyable. Picard was always a great captain and Patrick Stewart a great actor. It's probably also the most beloved of the series, with the possible exception of TOS.
TOS is way more campy and waaaaaay less politically correct than TNG, which can make it a really fun show to watch for different reasons. The crew is also pretty loveable, and William Shatner is the most amazing overacter in the history of the universe (one of my heros, definitely!) I'd download it and watch a few episodes sometime.
The movies are hit-or-miss. In general, the rule has always been that even-numbered movies are great, and the odd-numbered pictures are meh. That rule kindof breaks down the the last two (9 and 10) which are both mediocre in parts and terrible in others. The first film is incredibly bizarre. The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, and The Undiscovered Country are science fiction classics. Generations is sortof fun, but mostly forgettable. Star Trek 8: First Contact, featuring the terrifying Borg, is a fun ride too.
I watched DS9 faithfully for years, although I was never as into it. DS9 fans are rabid, though, and from what I've hear the show got extremely good the season after I stopped watching (maybe 4?).
Voyager was fun for awhile, but... for some reason I stopped watching. :)
Posted by Antonio 14 hours, 23 minutes later
ST 10: Nemesis was awesome! Boo to you, Jenn. Boo to you.
Posted by Jenn 2 hours, 20 minutes later
I enjoyed watching it, but the story really dragged in a few parts and there were some truly cringe-worthy moments in there (most of them intended to be funny). Of course, they were kindof amusing in an "oh-no-they-didn't" way, but there is no way the overall quality of that movie stacks up First Contact or the better movies with the original crew.