A Tribute to Star Trek

I know I am opening myself up to the wrath of LCD, but here it goes:

Star Trek has always been associated with loner nerds who have no other passions and no real friends. Thus, it has gotten a bad reputation. But let me tell you, I am a die hard Trekkie.

On the eve of the big Star Trek movie announcement, and just having gotten back from a Star Trek Convention, I would like to try to explain why the show is so important to me and to so many other people. And how the fans are much more interesting, intelligent, social, and well-adjusted then you might think.

This story starts with Gene Roddenberry. I had always thought of him as the guy that came up with the idea for Star Trek, and nothing more. But after hearing stories about each of the show’s incarnations from people that actually worked with him, I can see that it was his singular vision that created this marvelous franchise.

Gene Roddenberry hated racism, sexism, capitalism and violence. He envisioned a future where all of this was put behind us. All races and genders were treated equal.

There was no money, there was no war. Humanity had transcended beyond all of this and was now able to travel space, exploring. Finding new worlds, helping those less fortunate, exchanging art and ideas with all organisms, and forever staying true to all of these ideals and the betterment of the whole universe.

To this end, he cast females and non-caucasions in the main roles of his series. He kept away from the militaristic style that the studio wanted him to do. They wanted episodes about the astronauts fighting aliens and killing monsters. He wanted episodes where there as no violence. Just ideas and decisions and discoveries.

They tried to beat him down, but he took everything they threw at him and fought back. He featured the first interracial kiss, and the studio was not happy about that. After three seasons, the original series was cancelled, but Roddenberry was not done. Years later, he came back with Star Trek: The Next Generation. With this series, he continued to fight against the studio. He didn’t want to see alot of space battles, but they did. He didn’t want to see a lot of soap opera romance, but they did. He stood strong once again and this show ran successfully for seven years.

It left behind some of the best and most powerful episodes of the whole Star Trek cannon. The show subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) had episodes bashing the US foreign policy, racism (which to this day still sadly goes on), sexism, needless brutality, the military, and even organized religion.

Gene Roddenberry was now getting old, and with each passing year he was losing his hold on his beloved franchise. Three more Star Trek series came after The Next Generation ended. They were good in their own ways, but as they went on the ideals that Roddenberry instilled in the franchise were slowly deteriorating.

The last show ended with all of those still intact, but it wasn’t the same. Roddenberry had died and Paramount now had their way with the franchise. They shut down fan clubs, conventions, websites. Anything that they didn’t get money for was fair game. To them, Star Trek is just a money machine, but to the fans, it will always be more.

Roddenberry said a great quote in his last interview before he died. When asked what will happen to the Star Trek franchise after he dies, he said simply: “After I die, the studio will kill it.”

And sadly, he may be right. There is a new movie in the works. The first one to be made without any input from Roddenberry. Tomorrow they will announce more, but all we know now is that it is being directed by J.J. Abrams, and is going to be a *cringe* reboot of the series.

Only time will tell, but with any luck this film will capture the spirit that has made this franchise so beloved by fans: the idea that there can be a better future.

A future where humanity will pull itself out of its horrible state and strive for world where everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, and species, can live together in peace and harmony. What is there not to love about that idea?