A Visit To Sickbay

I have a slight medical problem. Sometimes I drop like a stone and no one really knows exactly why. Sometimes it's caused by pain or heat or maybe I haven't eaten in a while or maybe I'm freaking out over something like a too-crowded room. Anyway, once it starts, it's a runaway train. I can feel my body turn hot and cold at the same time and then it's like I go through a tunnel where my senses just shut off. Yesterday, I was sitting in a restaurant sipping a coke when I felt it starting. Usually, if I catch it early, eating or drinking something with sugar will curb it but not this time. I told Scott, "I think I'm going to pass out." I remember reaching for the drink, my hand missing it several times, and then I woke up on the floor.

A little while later, I was in the ER. Nurses swarmed around me and I was hooked up to a lot of machines that go ping. Hours passed. "This is Star Trek," I said, and my husband seemed a little worried that I might be losing it again. I clarified that what I meant was that back in the TOS days, they were still dreaming of much of the technology we had seen over the course of our stay in the ER. I held up the simple clip on my finger that gave us a constant readout of my heart rate. "Like this thing," I said.

Many of the sickbay instruments regularly used in Star Trek have become a reality. The hypospray, the tricorder, a handheld ultrasound, and bionic eyes that work much like Geordi's visor have all been developed. Back when Bones first ripped the sleeve off of Kirk's uniform to fix him up in "The Naked Time" all this stuff was just a good idea. Now it's real.

That's why, when I watch Star Trek and see devices that can instantly graft skin or bones back together, food replicators that mean no one has to go hungry, and seamless universal translators that make it easier for everyone on this planet to talk to everyone else, I feel optimistic. People out there are working on that. Maybe someday I'll be writing posts from a handheld, tablet-like device that instantly transmits my work to thousands of people all over the world--oh, wait.

DS9: In The Hands Of The Prophets

My sixth-grade science teacher, on the first day of class, announced that she would not be teaching evolution or the big bang theory, as she believed in neither. She was a Christian, she said, and that entitled her to choose what she wanted to teach and what she wanted to leave out. I remember exactly where I was sitting in the classroom. I remember the old tables with old graffiti gouged into it.  I remember the fact that there was no air conditioning and that in Kentucky in August, the heat was intense. And yet, as my teacher proudly uttered the statement that she planned to intentionally neglect a large part of our curriculum, a new heat, oppressive and uncomfortable, crept over my body. As a young, curious student, I was confused. I was disappointed. I was angry. 

I thought a lot about that day as I watched "In The Hands Of The Prophets." In the episode, Keiko is teaching her small, rag-tag group of students about the wormhole next to which their station is perched when in comes Vedek Winn. The Vedek (a religious authority and holy figure among the Bajoran people) insists that Keiko ought to be teaching the children about how the wormhole is actually a Celestial Temple and that the aliens within are actually holy prophets. Keiko disagrees. She insists that she's just trying to teach plain, hard, provable science. The story goes back and forth between the two with both Siskos stuck in the middle and a heap of Bajorans pulling their kids out of school over religious differences. 

I find that I can't watch this episode without becoming incensed. And, of course, that was the intent. Contentious stories like this one make us angry or afraid or sad; they make us talk; they make us want to take action. Star Trek has always challenged oppressive societal norms. It has always asked us questions about ourselves, our world, our future. Roddenberry's vision of the future is one in which we celebrate not only our differences but also our ability to overcome. And, to overcome, a culture must progress. And to progress, we must rely on science, whatever our beliefs may be. We may respect one another's beliefs, we may choose to learn about them or even adopt them, but we also have the right to a legitimately rigorous, fact-based, secular education. Children have the right to be taught by individuals who express excitement and can present scientifically literate lessons about the universe and all its wonders. The woman who denounced not only two of the most widely-accepted theories in science but also two elements of the Kentucky sixth-grade science curriculum had no place standing in that classroom.

That year I went to our small town's tiny library on my own and checked out everything I could find about evolution and natural selection. I wrote an essay called, "Arguing For Evolution" and (though normally an honor-roll student) I got a D-. In spite of the poor grade, my scientific curiosity wasn't stifled and I think I owe at least part of that to Roddenberry's future, to spending my evenings watching as yet impossible feats of science on TV, to Star Trek. Unfortunately there are still plenty of Vedek Winns out there in classrooms denouncing the very subject they've been hired to teach and shutting down budding curiosity before it ever has a chance. 

DS9: The Forsaken

Once upon a time, Lwaxana Troi got stuck in a turbolift with Odo and TV magic was made. "The Forsaken" revolves around a computer malfunction, some whiny ambassadors, and a blossoming friendship between two unlikely people. While the other stuff is fine, it's the Lwaxana/Odo relationship that I love about this episode. Both characters are (in their own way) rather abrasive. Lwaxana is brash and overly chatty while Odo is stoic and standoffish but they both have a hard time making any real friends. This episode slaps them together like peanut butter and jelly and what we get is a series of sweet, perfect scenes and eventually a revelation from both characters. I love this one so much I just had to sit down and draw something:

DS9: If Wishes Were Horses

Do you know how many baseball games I've watched today? Three. Three ball games. To be fair, I'm technically still in the middle of the Detroit/Texas game but I will watch it all--to the very last inning. I love baseball and I've been watching this year since the first day of spring training. I live in LA and soon after we moved here I discovered Vin Scully and so now I'm a (rather despondent) Dodgers fan but I can watch any baseball. I watched all of the World Baseball Classic and sometimes I watch college and minor league games.

You might assume I was raised in a sports/baseball family but you'd be wrong. My parents cared less than nothing about sports but (probably thanks to baseball movies) I was always interested in the game. I love the way it looks and the way it sounds. I love the green grass and the rusty brown of the dirt. I love the crack of a good hit and the swoosh/sizzle of a strike. I love it.

And that's why, when I wrote out the schedule for My Year Of Star Trek, I was SO excited to realize I would be spending most of baseball season watching DS9. One of the saddest things in all of Star Trek is the fact that baseball has all but died out by 2369. The death of baseball is depressing but Star Trek (following a tradition that goes back to the Original Series) gives us hope by simultaneously warning us about what we could lose, and letting us know that as long as someone, somewhere loves something it won't completely go away.

In DS9, Commander Sisko is that someone. He loves baseball so much that he passes the knowledge of the extinct practice on to his son. When confronted by the wormhole aliens, he expresses the human capacity to take pleasure in discovering what was previously unknown through the concept of baseball. In "If Wishes Were Horses," Jake is off playing baseball in the holosuite when Buck Bokai (who played in the last ever World Series) appears before him.

This episode has its ups and downs. I've even seen it argued as one of the worst episodes of Star Trek. And it is a bit ridiculous but it's not exactly as if that's some kind of new thing for Star Trek. Remember the time the TOS crew was seeing the white rabbit or when Kirk's Starfleet bully showed up to give him a sound thrashing. Or, remember that time Kirk and Abraham Lincoln got in a straight-up fistfight with Genghis Khan? Yes. It's a lot like that.

Anyway, my favorite stuff from this episode comes in the last scene. After Sisko and the crew have been put to task by what seem to be figments of their own imaginations, Bokai comes to him to explain what's really been going on. By and by, their discussion turns to the human imagination and Bokai says, "I wonder if you can appreciate how unique that imagination of yours really is." The whole scene, a short, quiet finish, pays tribute to one of the long-lasting ideals of Star Trek--humanity, when at its best, is unique and exceptional.

At the very end, Bokai tosses Sisko a baseball. Sisko would end up keeping the ball around throughout the rest of DS9 and it shows up at several key (totally awesome) moments. Seeing Sisko with it for the first time, I smiled. I feel like it's going to be a great summer. Now, back to the game.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Last night we saw Star Trek: Into Darkness. Basically, it was amazing. For now, I'm not going to mention any details or reveal any plot points or character moments or anything of the sort. However, I will say what the experience meant to me. It meant a lot. A whole lot.

Actually, I spent the first forty-five minutes or so crying at the fact that this whole thing was even happening. I get that a lot of people don't like the Abrams reboot but I'm not one of those people. Lens flairs and all, I love the new movies. I've spent a lifetime with Star Trek and I've spent every single day since January 1st watching and writing about Star Trek. The experience has reminded me just how bereft I was when Enterprise went off the air, how terrible it felt to not have any Star Trek coming, to believe that maybe Star Trek was over and they weren't ever going to make anymore. But now they have, and in doing so, they've done something wonderful.

These movies have mythologized the characters that we have known and loved since the 60's. Like Sherlock Holmes or Superman, multiple incarnations of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy means that they can live beyond their original scope. They can exist again and again, each time refreshing themselves for new generations and through those re-imaginings, they become more universal. The ideals of Star Trek--the high value placed on curiosity, loyalty, exploration, tolerance, and kindness--can be passed from one generation to the next, each time delivered in a updated and appealing format. And, the good news is, if you don't like the reboots, you can ignore them.  No one has erased all our cherished series. They still exist and they're more accessible than ever. You can go sit down in your living room and watch them over and over again and pretend these new movies don't exist. But that's not what I'm doing. I saw the 2009 Star Trek eight times in theaters and I plan on doing much the same thing with Into Darkness.

The movie is fast, smart, crammed with references to known Trek, and pretty much overflowing with heart. All the characters have great moments and the Kirk/Spock/McCoy relationship is deepened. Cumberbatch is awesome. The Enterprise is beautiful. New additions to the classic effects and sounds are perfect.

Anyway, now I'm going to paraphrase one line from the film--a line that I feel pretty much sums up how I feel about these reboots. It's out of context and I don't find it even remotely spoilery but, just the same, I'll put this quote after the following picture and you can feel free to skip it and come back to this post later:

"The Captain's Oath is a call for us to remember who we once were and who we must be again." 

I Can't Even...

Ok, I was going to write this whole post about how great the DS9 episode "The Nagus" is.

I was going to talk about how awesome Wallace Shawn is and how I've loved him ever since The Princess Bride and how I think his creative life (with his crazy-talented partner Deborah Eisenberg) seems like the kind of life I hope I've built for myself. And I was going to talk about how this episode features the first promising seeds of the Jake/Nog relationship and how the moment Sisko finds out what Jake and Nog are up to is a virtual punch in the gut that gets me every time.

But I just can't really talk about any of that stuff. I am basically climbing the walls, pacing the floor, and chewing my fingernails off in anticipation of Star Trek: Into Darkness. We have tickets for tonight's show and even though it doesn't start till 10pm and it's not even dark yet, I keep checking the clock.

Basically, this is my Christmas Eve. How can I be expected to go about normal life when a new Star Trek movie is playing in theaters RIGHT THIS MOMENT?!!? For real, I can barely keep it together:

GRRRR ARRRRGGGG!!!!

Of course, with my luck, I'll burn out all my nervous energy by 8pm and fall asleep as soon as the opening credits roll.

No. That is a joke. I will not do that. That is physically impossible. The last time I saw a Star Trek movie in theaters for the first time, my heart pretty much exploded out of my chest as soon as I saw this:

Check on me in the morning though and make sure I didn't suffer what I'm pretty sure doctors refer to as an acute attack of Fangirlitis, also known as Subitus-Trekkie-Stupefio. 

DS9: Time For Something Completely Different

I've spent just about every day of the last three months watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's the one I grew up with, the one I'm most familiar with, the one I always get nostalgic about. I was sad to see it go and a little apprehensive about DS9 which I and am much less familiar with. Just as I assumed would happen--the entrance into DS9 came as a shock. It's very different from TNG but it's also refreshing and here's why:

#1- Alien Cultures Abound
In TNG, a crew of (mostly) humans flies around and encounters different species and we see their cultural differences play out over a span forty-five minutes. We mostly just get glimpses into their lives and ways of living. In DS9, there's a lot more alien to go around. Fully half of the individuals in the sweet Sears Portrait Studio photo below aren't human and that doesn't include (spoiler!) Worf who comes along later or Rom and Nog who are both great characters.

"Let's head over to Cinnabon after this, guys!"

In DS9 we follow these non-humans around for several years rather than several minutes. As a consequence, the same "OMG! This totally draws a parallel to my own culture!" moment is greatly enhanced.

#2- Kick Ass Ladies
I've mentioned before how it took basically forever for Deanna Troi to come into her own. They just didn't seem to know what to do with her. The same goes for Beverly and Pulaski (while spunky) was short-lived. In DS9, you immediately get soldier-badass Major Kira. Then there's Jadzia Dax with her suitcase full of advanced degrees and a fantastic sense of humor. These chicks, though lovely, are not sporting cleavage and their plots don't revolve mostly around being a victim or falling head over heels (though this does happen) for some guy they really ought not to be involved with. Piss these ladies off and Kira will punch you in the face while Dax figures out a way to erase your memory of the whole affair.

Kicking ass and taking names since 2369

#3- Jake
I really dislike all the Wesley hate. I liked that character as a kid and an adult. However, I do think that they often had a hard time giving him decent stuff to do and he pretty much never had anyone to talk to.  Mostly it was always just Wesley annoying some grownups until they recognized his brilliance and let him drive the ship or something. Jake (Sisko's son) gets a perfect cohort in Nog and, together, they both become great characters.  I love these kids and watching them grow up is one of the pleasures of this series.

This is how BFFs are made

I'm about eight episodes into DS9 now and I'm really excited to keep going. While different from the Trek that came before, this is a truly great series and it really makes me look forward to the next three months.