Ten Times Trek Tackled Tough Topics

Growing up on Star Trek, I've always felt an unflinching optimism about the humanist direction of our world culture. I was a child of the 90s. A poor kid, a transient kid, a kid with divorced parents, a kid who went to fifteen schools and experienced therein a variety of micro-cultures. I was a kid from the Mountain South, a kid with strict, Southern Baptist grandparents but liberal-minded, artist parents who had all sorts of friends. I was a kid who stood in line for food stamps, a kid who lived, for a time, in a shelter and, for another time, in a fancy suburb. I was a kid who watched as factories and jobs and coal mines and mountain tops and any sense of pride went out of small town after small town in Appalachia. I was a kid who watched an Oxy epidemic and a low employment rate contribute to the already low life expectancy of those around her. I was a kid who once went hiking in the hills of North Carolina and watched as her mother burned to ash a racist symbol she'd found littering the overlook. I was a kid who grew up with family and friends of various colors, creeds, and sexual orientations. I remember being that kid, looking around at my own world and at the world on Star Trek, and thinking, "We've got a long way to go but at least we're on the right track."

I remember thinking that something like the future portrayed in Trek was where we were headed. And I still believe that.

When November rolled by and things shook out the way they did, I was disappointed by many things but, because of my varied background, unsurprised. I hoped it wouldn't be as bad as I worried it might be but, as January unfolded, I watched as the highest office in the land was filled by a man who seemed incapable of taking us anywhere but backward. I watched as cabinet positions were taken by confirmed bigots and misogynists and billionaires who'd bought and paid for a seat at a table where they might only wreak havoc on the poorest and most desperate families of this country and others. I watched as people on both sides on an invisible line shouted into their echo chambers and posted articles they hoped would garner favor from their like-minded friends. I watched and I retreated into my own world because confrontation and public discource is not something that comes naturally to me. And in my retreat, I continued to do as I have always done. I watched Star Trek. And, one afternoon, at the sound of a single line, about human compassion, I began to cry.

Star Trek has had a long, long history of turning its eye on the current cultural climate, of tackling the issues which tug at the ugliest, fuzziest, darkest parts of our world and brings them into sharp, technicolor focus. These episodes are a cornerstone of Trek and of Science Fiction in general. They allow us to see our own problems through the eyes of others (sometimes subtly, other times less so) and, hopefully, in looking through those other eyes, we can find some empathy or, at least, some empathy can find us. Star Trek says the things I have difficulty saying. It says these things with grace, compassion, and a hope that I will continue to turn to. I figured I might as well make a list for reference so, here it is:

1- A Taste of Armageddon, The Original Series
Two societies are content to let a computer deal out death so their physical culture is preserved. Kirk is having none of it. This is one of my favorites from TOS.

2- Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, The Original Series
Two races from one planet hate each other for superficial reasons the Enterprise crew can't even percieve. This one is easy (or maybe not) to scoff at these days but, in its time, it was a necessary and poignant episode.

3- The Drumhead, Next Generation
A confessed spy, a terrorist plot and a devious witchhunt are the set pieces of this quiet, courtroom episode and Picard is its beating heart.

4- Darmok, Next Generation
(Full Disclosure: This is my favorite episode of Star Trek. I will put it on every list I ever make. However, it absolutely deserves a spot here.) The Enterprise encounters a race of aliens whose language they cannot even begin to understand. Captain Picard is spirited away to a dangerous planet where he and the alien captain must overcome their differences and learn to work together.

5- The Outcast, Next Generation
Riker befriends a member of an androgynous race who considers an individual that identifies strongly as either male or female to be criminally deviant and perverted. Featured here is one of the best speeches in Trek.

6- Duet, DS9
Set against the still tense Bajoran/Cardassian conflict, Kira discovers an infamous, Cardassian war criminal aboard DS9. Things are not what they seem.

7- Far Beyond The Stars, DS9
This one features the crew in old timey duds and no alien makeup or prosthesis. It also features a stark look at the life of minorities in 1950s America as Sisko finds himself in the story of a black Science Fiction author trying to sell his vision of an egalitarian future to a world that's almost but not quite ready.

8- Distant Origin, Voyager
The Voyager gang becomes embroiled in one species' debate over evolutionary science.  This is an often forgotten but very strong outing. I'd also add that I think it's the best Chakota-sode but that would sound like I'm damning it with faint praise.

9- Remember, Voyager
The full title of this one should be, "Remember: Hard to Watch" and that's really the whole point. Basically, Voyager comes upon a somewhat serene society only to find an ugly and evil truth in their recent past. It's a truth most everyone would like to forget. Except they shouldn't.

10- Terra Prime, Enterprise
Alternate title: "Make Earth for Earthers Again!' This one pits Archer and crew against a xenophobic, isolationist leader (in the fabulous Peter Weller) who'd like to build a wall around the world make sure Earth is safe from any further seeking out of new life and new civilizations and/or boldly going.

Of course there are plenty more. When I mentioned to my husband that I was going to make a list of socio-political Star Trek allegories he said, "How long is that list going to be?" And I decided to limit it to ten. But there are plenty more.

Here are a few, in brief:
-TOS: Devil in the Dark (A lesson in tolerance and the dangers of hasty assumptions)
-TOS: Plato's Step-Children (First inter-racial kiss on US TV)
-TOS: A Private Little War (Overtones of the Vietnam War)
-TNG: Measure of a Man (What does it take to be considered human?)
-TNG: Journey's End (Native American rights in the 24th Century)
-TNG: Chain of Command (The horror and futility of torture)
-DS9: Homefront/Paradise Lost (Starfleet goes Patriot Act in fear of shapeshifter terrorists)
-DS9: Second Skin (Problems of identity, point of view, indoctrination)
-DS9: In The Pale Moonlight (Personal Values >/= Ultimate Goals?)
-VOY: Author, Author (Another exploration of humanity and human rights)
-VOY: Prototype (B'Elanna finds herself repairing instrument of endless war)
-VOY: Faces (B'Elanna confronts both parts of her bi-racial identity)
-ENT: Cogenitor (Rights of individual)
-ENT: Dear Doctor (Doctor and Captain grapple with the question of non-interference)
-ENT: Home (Issues of xenophobia in the wake of terrorism)

Welp. I'd meant for this to be a super short, list-form post. It became something... else. But if you're sitting around in your house thinking to yourself, "Gee. I wonder if there's any Star Trek out there that might resonate with whatever complicated feeelings I'm currently feeling regarding the current socio-political climate." The short answer is, "Yes." The long answer is, "Yes."

LLAP50

Today is Trek's 50th Birthday. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit down and write the sort of longish post I wanted to. The kind of post I've been thinking about since 2016 first rolled around. The kind of post I used to contemplate back in 2013 when I first started this project. I can't go ok for ages about how much Star Trek has meant to me, how important it's been to my life, how unexpectedly meaningful this blog has become to me. If you've seen my latest Captain's Vlog or read any of my recent posts, you'll understand why.

I'm happy, though, that I was able to do a little TNG-inspired art tonight. In honor of Star Trek's big birthday, here's my Trek-sona: 

Happy Birthday, old friend. May we all celebrate many, many more with you. 

Boarding The Enterprise

Great news!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Ben & Bella books to see whether I might want to read, review, and give away a couple copies of the new, anniversary edition of Boarding The Enterprise edited by Robert J. Sawyer and David Gerrold for whom I have the utmost respect. Of course, the email went to my junk mail folder and then I was traveling and sick and injured and a million other things but eventually I got my biz together enough to reply and say, "Yes! Sure thing!"

And then a few more days went by as I put off figuring out how to run a legit giveaway here on the blog... but now, finally, I have put the exceedingly creaky wheels of progress in motion.

See. I have a blog tour banner and everything! I'm no(t too much of a) slouch!

Alright, I have TWO copies of this book to giveaway (US & Canada only please (sorry spam bots from Russia) for super practical shipping reasons) and you can enter thusly:

Option 1: Leave a comment below with the title of your favorite episode. That's it.
Option 2: Tweet about this blog or this book or both at once if you're feeling efficient.
Option 3: Tweet using the hashtag: #BeamMeUpAgain

My impression of this is that it will be easy. Presumably easier than that time I wrote a bunch of names down and drew them out of a legit wizard hat my husband owns because of reasons. (Magic reasons.)
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TOS Re-watch: The Man Trap

I finally did it. I watched The Man Trap yesterday after pretty much taking a month off from Star Trek and blogging. And you know what's strange? It didn't occur to me until much later, as I was making dinner, that Leonard Nimoy is dead.

I watched The Cage last month, of course, and didn't even think about it. I watched the whole of The Man Trap, where we get our first real glimpse of what Trek would be, and I thought about Spock's character, I thought about the sets, the costumes, the way it's so rich that Kirk tells McCoy not to be ruled by his "glands." I didn't think about the fact that this is my first re-watch of The Original Series since Nimoy died.

For a moment I felt guilty. I should've spent several seconds in silent solemnity as the credits rolled for the first time and Nimoy's name appeared. But I didn't. I was finishing up a painting and drinking coffee and worried about nine million other things and it didn't even occur to me that I should feel anything other than the same familiar nostalgia I've always felt when watching Trek.

Maybe it's because we lost DeForest Kelley and James Doohan a long time ago. Maybe it's because I already felt Nimoy's death so keenly and let it go. Maybe it's because the actors are never their characters--as much as we might want them to be--and even if Nimoy did die, Spock is still right here on my TV. It's his familiar voice that lets me know everything will probably still be ok. It's his skinny build in his blue velour uniform that makes me smile. It's still his way of infuriating the more outwardly emotional people around him that I identify with.

In January I had my birthday--it was lovely. I saw Star Wars for the 8th and 9th times--and loved it more with each viewing. I kept having weird heart palpitations and (after ten years of not-very-well-explained fainting spells) finally made an appointment with a cardiologist. I painted very little. I wrote even less. I turned down multiple commissions and ended up cancelling one that was going too slowly. I worried about my health and then worried some more. What if there's something very wrong with me? What if I don't wake up one morning? What if I never finish my work? Why do I think my work is so important? I spent some (likely ill-advised) time on Web MD. I played so many hours of Fallout 4. I worked on the query for a book I'm dying to send out but anxious about its prospects. I actually picked up the phone and called my mom because her mom is going into hospice care. I felt annoyed with myself for not being more torn up about it.

Then, yesterday, I watched The Man Trap. And I didn't think about losing Leonard Nimoy. And that's ok. Leonard Nimoy was amazing. He brought life to a character that has been and will continue to be beloved by millions. And that character is still alive and well in marvelous technicolor. He's part of a greater family, a greater story, a greater home. It's a home that I can always go back to, after a month of strange ups and downs, and it won't mind how long I've been away. Like any home, it's flawed. It's getting on a bit. Its ideas, while forward for its time, are more dated now. Its music, clothes, and style are a little old fashioned. But I still love it. I know everything it's done for me over the years. Everything it will continue to do. It's still comforting, still comfortable, still safe to sit with Star Trek and know that, whatever has happened in my day, it's there.

The Cage

Do you know how many times I've watched "The Cage" on New Year's Eve? I've been doing this blog since 2013 but actually started it on December 31st, 2012 when I re-watched the strange Star Trek pilot with my dad. Since then it's become a reluctant New Year's tradition. I don't hate The Cage at all. (Though every time The Menagerie comes on I find something else to do while I watch it) The thing is, I've thought about it and written about it a lot already. Still, I went ahead and watched it at the beginning of this year and... it was nice. It was nice to return to The Original Series, especially in this, the 50th anniversary year of Star Trek. My plan for 2016 (since sometime in 2015) has been to focus the blog this year on TOS.

But then I got really bogged down. I spent most of December catching up on the work I missed out on when I was so sick in November. Then we took a whirlwind trip home and visit our friends and family and, of course it was lovely to see all of them but, at the same time, there's really only so much I can take. Additionally, my chest pain (from a suspected intercostal strain) has persevered and seems, at times, worse than ever. This, in conjunction with some creative issues, meant that I pretty much spent the first week of 2016 in a major slump. My dad bought me Fallout 4 for Christmas (because he really does know me) and I put it in the Xbox and didn't come out of The Commonwealth for about four days. This, of course, made me feel guilty. Shouldn't I be working, writing, drawing, blogging, writing emails, cleaning the house, taking down the Christmas Tree? Shouldn't I be productive. My heart was skipping beats. It was racing. I was freaking out about taking a break.

The thing is, I've been told by many people, that I'm the hardest working person they know and I tend to only reluctantly admit how much I really do work. I typically spend 12-14 hours every day working. When I sit down in the morning it's the first thing I do and I have to physically make myself stop at night. Wanna know how I pulled my intercostal muscles? Thirty-two days spent on a huge art project wherein I was sort of bent/twisted over my work for up to sixteen hours in a day--every day. I was in the middle of doing the fine line work on a pen and ink hare when there was a crazy spasm in my chest that snatched my breath away. I still haven't had the will to go back to the hare. Every time I look at it my chest hurts.

Anyway, I finally whittled down my Fallout time and went back to work but then, David Bowie died. And then Alan Rickman died. And it was sort of the last straw on a whole other front for me. (Oh my god, this is a long blog post) I've gotten really tired of reading what everyone thinks about everything. This really hit a crescendo in the flurry of Star Wars. I loved it. My feelings about that movie aren't simple and they won't be reduced to a critique. But I kept seeing my geek friends write things on social media like, "I'm sure you've all been waiting to hear what I thought about The Force Awakens. I really liked and here's all the problems I had with it. " And I think, Nope. I actually don't want to hear what you thought.  It was at this point that I realized I was 1000% done with everyone. When Bowie died and everyone poured their hearts out about him on Facebook I couldn't wrap my head around it. My feelings about his death were so complicated and I thought about writing something--I even started a whole essay about it--but I was so exhausted with everyone else that I realized I shouldn't make other people read what I have to say either. That I'm just shouting into a room already so full of shouting that my voice would never be heard or recognized, that maybe I should just keep my thoughts to myself.

And that idea crept into this blog. Why should I write about "what I thought" about whatever episode of Star Trek? Am I just adding my voice to a meaningless cacophony? Is someone somewhere irritated with me because I'm presumptuous enough to think, "I know you've all been waiting to hear my thoughts about The Cage."

<long sigh>

I don't know.

<longer sigh>

When I first started this project, I did it because Star Trek had always meant a lot to me, because I had been stuck in a weird creative rut, because I wanted to examine my life through the lens of pop culture. Early on I realized that I wanted to be a positive voice in a community (the general geek community) that often ends up focusing only on the negative or the minute dissection of something that was never meant to be pulled apart in that way. I wanted to talk about something I love and I wanted to more closely examine my life with the help of something I love and maybe become a better writer/person in the process. I think this blog has done that for me. And will continue to do so.

I don't expect people to sit around wringing their hands, waiting for me to post about a fifty year old episode of television--or even the death of a beloved actor or musician. This project has always been as much (more) for me than for anyone else--though I'm very, very glad some of you have showed up and stuck around. It really does mean so much to me that my little voice, in this little corner of the biggest, craziest, noisiest room in existence, carries. 2016 will be The Year of The Original Series. Maybe, The Year of Spock. And I do hope you'll be here. But, even if you're not, I'm going to keep writing.

A Salute

Five decades ago Leonard Nimoy appeared in a pilot for a TV show that would eventually become a phenomenon. He would be the only actor from the pilot to stay with the show. He would become possibly the most recognizable character in the history of television. He would change lives.

Three decades ago Leonard Nimoy quit smoking.

A few years ago Leonard Nimoy was diagnosed with COPD.

Several days ago Leonard Nimoy was admitted to the hospital.

A few days ago, Leonard Nimoy died.

On that day, I was sitting on the floor, working. My husband said, "Hey, AshleyRose," in a tone that actually said, "I'm about deliver some bad news."

In that moment, I sighed. I blinked. I began to cry.

I'm glad it was Scott, and not the internet, who broke the news about Leonard Nimoy's death to me. While I'm just a Trek fan, just someone who knew Nimoy from his most famous role, his death felt personal.

Here's another chronology:

Nearly five decades ago, my dad sat too close to the TV, watching a show that would change his life. My dad isn't like other folks. His brain doesn't work exactly the same way. It's always spinning off in different directions--into uncharted territory and unexplored lands. His creativity is boundless and it's only ever checked by circumstance. He has no filter and he doesn't seem to feel things the same way other humans do. He's from another planet and he's always half-jokingly claimed that planet to be Vulcan.

Nearly five decades ago, my mom went outside to play with her little brother. They wandered around the fields and hills and creeks near their mountain home and pretended the landscape was a faraway planet. They fought aliens. They saved the ship. They stuck together. And, through it all, they didn't speak. My uncle was born completely deaf. He uses signs to talk and, before he went to deaf school and learned ASL, he and my mother had their own sign language. But one sign, they didn't create. They saw it on TV. It was the Vulcan salute.

Three decades ago, my mom and dad met and a very short time later, I came along. And, a very short time after that, I was introduced to Star Trek. I've always said I can't remember not knowing about Trek. I can't remember learning the Vulcan salute. It's always been part of my life.

One decade ago, I lay awake at three o'clock in the morning talking to a guy on the phone (can you imagine?) I thought he was smart and sexy and funny but it wasn't until three o'clock in the morning that I fell in love when he said, "It's like that episode of Star Trek..." 

Two years ago, when I was at the bottom of a deep, dark pit of emotion, I decided to watch all of Star Trek in a year. I'd watched and re-watched nearly every episode throughout my life but I wanted to do something intense, something crazy, something different. And I did do it. I watched approximately 750 hours of Star Trek in 365 days, wrote about as much of it as I could, and it absolutely, completely changed my life.

Several days ago, I read that Leonard Nimoy had been admitted to the hospital and I pushed it to the back of my mind. "He'll be alright," I said to myself.

A few days ago, my husband gently told me of Leonard Nimoy's passing and I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I honestly couldn't even process it.

That same day I got a heartfelt email from my mom, expressing her sadness over Nimoy's death and asking whether I was alright. I got another email from my dad who was upset that he couldn't find my old Vulcan ears and had just ordered a few new pairs.

And then an email from a friend--asking whether I was alright and telling me how much Spock had meant to them. And then another, telling me how upset they were.

And then I finally went on Facebook and was pleasantly surprised at the outpouring of love for this man. Thousands of tributes appeared throughout the next two days. The words, "Live long and prosper," were uttered again and again. Old pictures were recovered. Old memories re-hashed. One friend from High School put up photos and then a video from a visit to Universal Studios' Star Trek Adventure. Everyone had their own chronology, their own memories of Star Trek and Leonard Nimoy's legacy.

And then something interesting happened. New photos were snapped.

People all over the world held up their hands in a simple gesture, captured the moment in time, and shared it with everyone they knew. And it didn't only mean, "Live long and prosper." Not anymore.

The Vulcan salute suddenly meant something new. It meant, "I knew this man. I knew the character he played. He made a difference to me. He made a difference in my life."

What Are Little Girls Made Of? Exploring The Star Trek Bechdel Test #1

Alright so, just in case you're new to this series. I'm looking at the results of Trekkie Feminist's Star Trek Bechdel test and attempting to explore what it is that sets Voyager apart from the other series. This is the first post in that exploration.

I've been planning on writing a post about the terrible boyfriends of Trek for some time. After an entire year of Star Trek, I was a little overwhelmed and, for a while didn't have it in me to get to this post, but the idea kept popping into my head. Why is it that so many of the female-centric episodes of every Trek (except Voyager) involve a terrible boyfriend, potential boyfriend, or ex putting them in danger?

It's a problem that's been going on as far back as The Original Series. Aside from Kirk being everyone's ultimate bad boyfriend, we get an actual Bad Boyfriend episode and it's called: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" In this one, Christine Chapel suddenly hears from her long-lost fiancé and goes down to the planet he's inhabiting along with Kirk.  Lots of naked crazyness ensues and Chapel realizes this dude is a total creep.

But does it pass the Bechdel Test? It would if Chapel/Andrea had talked about something besides dudes.

This episode sets a precedent that would be followed pretty extensively in TNG, then to a lesser extent in DS9, not so much in Voyager, and then brought back "Deanna Style" in ENT.

Now, that's not to say that dudes don't also get relationship episodes. In fact, on this very day, 48 years ago, McCoy realized he was dating a dangerous creep when she turned into a salt monster and tried to eat him. The issue here is that, when a guy in Starfleet gets a girlfriend, he isn't usually the one who's ultimately in peril. But, when a female officer dates a guy, he usually ends up being a cad and she's either put in danger of some kind or forced to act out of character.

So lets start with TNG and what I'm always going around the house ranting about as:

 Deanna's Terrible Boyfriends

1- Deanna's terrible secret fiance, Wyatt. Actually this guy isn't awful or dangerous. He's just some guy in a turtleneck who she was engaged to when she was a little girl. That's not weird. Nope.
2-Alien Entity. This also isn't that awful except that he KNOCKS HER UP without her permission. She ends up with a beautiful little boy who she loves and then has to give back to the universe. I mean, what even?
3- Devinoni Rai. This freaking guy. Am I right? Just a scumbag.

4- Jev, the telepath. Jev and Deanna basically flirt and then, when she leaves his company and goes to bed, he enters her mind without consent and, in her dream state, proceeds to force himself on her in the form of her actual on-again/off-again BF, Riker. She falls into a dangerous coma.

5- Aaron Conor. This guy isn't so bad. He's just dedicated to his perfect colony and doing his job and, in the end, he's as affected by this brief romance as Troi is. Troi clearly has a specific taste in boyfriends though, right?

6-Ves Alkar. Super creep. He basically hooks up with Troi and then starts sucking away her life force to power his own. Troi almost dies, again. She falls into a coma, again.

Alright and then there's Riker and Worf. (Just FYI: I really shipped Worf/Deanna back in the day but I thought Worf/Jadzia ultimately made a better pair.) She ends up with Riker and they finally get hitched and you'd think she'd be done with terrible boyfriends who physically/mentally/telepathically assault her. But, no. There's Star Trek: Nemesis so...

7- Shinzon. Ok, this isn't a boyfriend. It's a legit attack by a dangerous, hostile stranger and it's absolutely horrifying. The fact that Shinzon (as Ves Alkar did during the series) appears to her first as Riker, makes it even more disturbing. This is everything that's wrong with the Troi=Victim problem in Star Trek.

It's worth noting that Beverly also had a couple of ill-fated flings. She dated her grandma's creepy life-suck boyfriend. She got way into Riker when he took a Trill symbiont but then couldn't hang when a woman took the same symbiont. Ultimately, though, she was always into Picard above all others. And, let's face it, he's a pretty good catch.

Moving on.

In DS9, Jadzia Dax almost makes a couple of questionable, life-altering decisions because she goes all doe-eyed over a one-episode boyfriend/girlfriend. This happens in Meridian and Rejoined. In spite of the way this gets on my nerves, I still feel that Rejoined was a pretty progressive episode.

Kira has a one-episode fling with Thomas Riker wherein he hijacks the Defiant and then gets captured by Cardassians. She has a weird almost-flirtation/almost-combative relationship with Gul Dukat but she always stands her ground. Otherwise, her most icky relationship is with Vedek Bareil. Though, I have to admit, I think it's just me that's creeped out by this guy. Unless it's not. Is anyone else creeped out by him?

Also in DS9, they turn this trope around in the episode, "The Muse," wherein Jake gets all messed up by his creative-energy-sucking girlfriend.

 Onto Voyager:

Alright, Janeway is basically married to the ship and, thus, doesn't have much chance for human-style romance. She gives it a brief shot with Chakotay in "Resolutions" who, honestly, probably would've been an amazing abandoned planet husband. That guy made her a bathtub. She has a flirtation with Prince Humperdink of the Delta quadrant but, after a battle of wits, its Janeway who has the upper hand.

She also makes herself a holodeck boyfriend and, again, it's Janeway who holds all the power. She even feels guilty for altering him to better fit her own personality. Oh, and she also gets it on with Tom Paris when they're both Salamanders but I'm not sure that counts because, you know, reasons.

B'Elanna is pretty much in it to win it with Tom Paris the entire series. Though they have their ups and downs, their relationship is basically steady and they provide one another with a realistic, safe, deeply felt love.

Kes shows up with Neelix but she sort of calls it off between seasons. This isn't a bad thing. As much as I love Neelix, he was a Bad Boyfriend. He was jealous, over-bearing, over-protective, and patronizing toward Kes. Once they broke up, they both became better characters.
Later, she has a one-episode flirtation with a guy named Zahir but he actually turns out to be a decent guy--instead her BFF, The Doctor, tries to kill her. Does this count as a Bad Boyfriend episode? I'm not sure. I'm leaning toward yes.

Seven of Nine. Ok, so Seven of Nine has a couple of romantic interests during the show, including one which took place solely in Unimatrix Zero. Harry Kim and The Doctor both had feelings for her but the feelings weren't mutual and the friendships didn't turn into romance in either case. At one point, The Doctor inhabits her body and does some flirting but this doesn't go anywhere. In the end, she somehow ends up with Chakotay, which, I mean, if you love hand-built bathtubs, it seems like you're doing pretty well.

And, finally, Enterprise:
I'll be honest with you, I've been up since five o'clock this morning and I've already been working on this post for two hours somehow and I'm getting really exhausted. I mean, seriously, I just forgot how to go "back" on Firefox so I'll try to keep the rest of this short : 

Aside from T'Pol's main squeeze, Tucker, she has a brief encounter with a radical Vulcan. I'm not sure whether this counts as a boyfriend but it's definitely an "encounter" and this guy ends up violating her and leaving her with an (apparently) incurable (and tabooed) disease.

Hoshi has a whole Beauty & The Beast thing with this creep in a castle. Is there another one?

Anyway, both of these episodes feel like they could've just been re-written with Deanna Troi's name all over them following this simple pattern:

 Here is an intelligent, capable officer of Starfleet who just happens to be female. She hooks up with a guy or flirts with a guy or just happens to be in the same quadrant of space with a guy and he ends up endangering her in some way and her plight becomes the focus of the episode. The plot revolves around this woman being a victim.

Aside from the whole Kes/Neelix weird relationship, which they got rid of pretty quickly, Voyager didn't seem to have these episodes. (And please correct me if you think of one or more Bad Boyfriend episodes) There were stories wherein B'Elanna, Seven, or Janeway were in danger but it wasn't typically because of a bad, one-episode relationship. And, moreover, most of the plots of Voyager's female-character-driven episodes weren't based on the old "woman in peril" device. It's like the difference in a knight and a damsel. The knight rides knowingly into danger to achieve some greater goal. The damsel screams her beautiful lungs out until someone rescues her.

In Voyager, the women are knights. Deanna Troi is a damsel in distress and usually her peril is at the hands of a man and, often, at the hands of a man she is romantically involved with.

Unfortunately, at least until Deanna Troi takes the Bridge Officer Test and gets a new suit of clothes, most of the Deanna-sodes were about her being a victim. Not about her figuring something out. Not about her solving the problem or working alongside her crewmembers to save someone else. They featured her in tears, in danger, or in a coma. And that's a pity. Eventually, they endowed her with more ability and responsibility but go back to that old, awful stand-by of the mind-rape in Star Trek: Nemesis.

So, I'm not entirely sure why they went in such a different direction with the female-led episodes in Voyager. Was it that having a female captain lead to different story lines? Was it part of the zeitgeist? Was it just a steady progression from TNG to DS9 to Voyager wherein everyone involved grew steadily more conscious of the role of women in their show? Were people asking the question, "What are little girls made of?" and getting new answers?

I'm not sure. I'll keep thinking about it.

But not right now. Right now I'm going to get some sleep.

One Year Ago: Starting Voyager

When Your Klingonness Is Just Too Much

I've mentioned here before that if I belonged to any Star Trek species, I'd be half-Klingon, half-Vulcan. This has nothing to do with my parents' actual species (Betazoid/B'joran) but more just how I turned out.

Part of my Klingon-ness comes from how stubborn I am, how I tend to get frustrated easily, and how I tend to like to spend kind of a lot of time in the gym. I like lifting heavy weight and I like getting stronger and I like being a woman who can push around heavy weight.

The Vulcan part of me uses the gym as a sort of meditation. When I bench, all I'm thinking about is the weight. Everything else goes still and quiet. It's the only time in my day that that happens. It's like shoving earplugs in my brain and I love it.

Anyway, as in the rest of my life, I tend to inadvertently stick out at the gym. I'm pale in Southern California. I don't wear trendy, neon tops. I can't begin to get my shoulder-length hair into one of those sexy top knot things. I don't even kind of glisten. I drip buckets of gross, Klingon-smelling sweat all over the place--which I then wipe up because I'm not a damn heathen. I don't have earbuds or whatever in my ears and I turn REALLY red when I'm exerting myself. (see the note about paleness above.) I also have vasovagal syncope which makes me pass out and then I need some kind of sugar so I carry around these individually packaged prunes which... I mean, honestly, how opposite-of-cool are prunes? What am I, ninety? (I wish! Then I'd have a million cats!)

Whatever, I lift like a Klingon but I don't have the Klingon redundancies in my body so sometimes I suffer little injuries that nag me for a few days. But, about two weeks ago, I did something to my biceps tendon and it hasn't been right since. At first I tried to just work through it. But, that ended up exacerbating the problem.

Now, I'm relegated to leg work. I've done so many squats lately. You don't even know. The thing is, I can't do heavy leg stuff every single day. That means time in the cardio room. Cardio? Uggh. I run sprints and intervals but anything more than twenty minutes and I just want to go eat ice cream and watch TV. But the last 10 days? I've had to make friends with the stationary bike, treadmill, and elliptical. If I know I'm doing more than half an hour, I take my kindle and read.

Anyway, right now I have my shoulder/bicep wrapped. If it's not iced, it burns. When I wake up it hurts. When I lay down it hurts. I can't open jars or twist my own water bottle shut because my grip can't take any torque. This. Is. Ridiculous.

My Vulcan-self has had time (on a stationary bike) to reflect and I'm pretty sure I got into this position pushing myself too hard. ie- Being a little too Klingon in the gym. This reminds me a lot of Worf/B'elanna so here are a few times where their Klingonness was just too much:

1- When Worf gets super hurt:
TNG: Ethics
Worf is Worfing around and a big barrel falls on him and breaks his back. Dude is all messed up and Crusher is the model of compassion but compassion isn't exactly what Worf is all about. He's more about getting back to Worfing around as much as possible. So, another Doc steps in with some questionable ethics and presents an interesting but dangerous new treatment option.

2- When Worf has a fancy party:
TNG: The Icarus Factor
Worf is being all moody (aka- Worfing Around in 2nd Gear) because it's time for him to celebrate the Rite of Ascension and there aren't any other Klingons around to help him out. Thankfully, Wesley gets a plan together A-Team style and they round up some pain sticks for his special day.

3- When Worf goes on vacation:
DS9: Let He Who Is Without Sin
Worf's girlfriend gets him to FINALLY take a vacation and he is 100% miserable the entire time. When Jadzia finally confronts him about how he isn't at all like all the other, fun-loving Klingons she knows, we get one of the best Worf scenes in all of Star Trek. It's quiet. It's understated. And it's really, really Klingon.

4- When B'Elanna is way too into living dangerously:
VOY: Extreme Risk
B'Elanna starts Worfing around and runs all kinds of super hardcore holodeck programs with the safety off and nearly gets herself killed a bunch of times. When Chakotay confronts her, it comes out that B'Elanna is attempting to deal with her depression about the massacre of her Maquis friends by basically Klingon-ing the days away.

5- When B'Elanna takes a Klingon cruise to Klingon Hell:
VOY: Barge of the Dead
When B'Elanna dies in a shuttle accident, she makes a quick trip to the Klingon afterlife but finds that she's headed for dishonor--and so is her mom. She negotiates with her Ship-Mom to be put back into the same, death-like state she had been in when she fell onto the deck of a Klingon boat. Janeway surprisingly lets her go through this mess and she spends the rest of the episode with a bunch of other Klingons talking about the finer points of honor.

BONUS- When a bunch of tribbles hated Arn Darvin:
TOS: The Trouble With Tribbles
You guys know this one right? Sure, you do. Well, here goes anyway. The Enterprise answers a distress call and they're pretty pissed to learn that they (a super nice starship) were only invited over to guard some dang wheat. Anyway, some Klingons also show up. Hijinks ensue. Tribbles abound. And a bar fight breaks out. Lots of fun.

Ok, even typing hurts my arm so you can imagine how terrible I feel after such an over-long blog post. I'm going to take some Aleve and try to be more Vulcan for the remainder of the night.

Star Trek Mix Tape: Momisodes

I was born when my mom was pretty young. Ten years and a whole lot of ridiculousness passed and my mom had another kid--my little sister. Another ten years and even more ridiculousness passed and my mom had another kid--my baby brother. These two kids account for half of my siblings (my dad also got into some ridiculousness as well and produced my little twin sisters) and three decades of my mom's life. Every time one of us started growing out of childhood, my mom made another kid which means that for thirty years she has been Santa. She has been the Easter Bunny. She's been the homework helper, the shoulder to cry on, the taxi service to play rehearsal or academic team or little league.

And you know what?  For thirty years, she's been amazing at that stuff. She loves it. This year my little brother is finally growing out of his childhood and into tween-ness and for the first time in thirty years my mom won't be Santa or the Easter Bunny. But she'll still be there for all three of us in all of the unique ways that we need her to be.

For my crazy mom, and your crazy mom and you (if you're a crazy mom) I made the following Star Trek Mix Tape:

1-TOS: Journey to Babel
This is one of my all time favorite TOS episodes. Amanda Greyson and Sarek--Spock's parents--show up on the Enterprise and cause all kinds of under-the-surface-emotional-trauma for Spock. Amanda is such an interesting character all by herself. She's a human, married to a Vulcan ambassador and has taken up the Vulcan ways even though it's clear Vulcan's have a somewhat disdainful (read: xenophobic) attitude toward humans. She's not only married into this completely non-emotional culture but produced a son who also follows the Vulcan path and her handling of these stoic men is really nicely done.

2-TOS:  Devil In The Dark
This is one of the first episodes of TOS I remember watching as a kid. It totally blew my little kid mind and, when it first aired, The Horta became an instant part of classic Trek.

3- TNG: Remember Me
Beverly is totally ship mom on Picard's Enterprise. She mothers practically everyone but especially her actual kid, Wesley. In "Remember Me" she realizes the Enterprise crew is slowly vanishing but no one can even remember them existing. Its an effectively creepy, quiet episode which grows more claustrophobic and strange as the story moves along. Finally, Beverly realizes the key to her survival is her connection to her son.

4-TNG: Family
I'm not sure exactly when we learn that Worf was raised by human parents. Seems like it's pretty early on. But it's not until after the Borg attack in Season Three that we get to see them and Helena Rozhenko is a force to be reckoned with. It couldn't have been easy raising a Klingon child in a human culture and Helena talks about the struggles that a lot of adoptive parents face.

5- TNG: Interface
Here, Geordi gets word that his mom's ship has gone missing. Right around this time, he's also checking out the possibilities/limitations of a virtual reality probe and hears his mother's voice calling to him from a wrecked ship within a gas giant. Convinced that his mother is still alive, he takes the probe's interface system into dangerous territory to find and save her. This one deals as much with the loss and letting go of one's mom as anything else and, for that reason, it's bitter sweet. It's also perfectly played by LeVar Burton.

6- DS9: Take Me Out To The Holosuite/For The Cause
I loved Kasidy Yates and her relationship with Jake was great. She's an excellent example of a step-mom-gone-right. But, like a lot of DS9, her character development was a slow progression. It's hard to point to a single episode that showcases their relationship. So, instead, I picked two that exemplify Kasidy's greatness as a character and a woman. "For The Cause" shows Kasidy standing up for her ethics even when it means losing the people she loved. "Take Me Out To The Holosuite" shows her taking on the Vulcans in a game of baseball right along with Jake and Ben.

7- DS9: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
I'm not gonna lie, this is not a fun episode to watch. That being said, this is a mighty good one. On the anniversary of Kira's mom's birthday, Gul Dukat spills the beans to her about her mom's true fate in the Bajoran Occupation. When she doesn't believe him, she uses a Bajoran orb to find the truth and the truth isn't pretty. Still, what Kira's mother did for her family is incredible and her sacrifice is exemplary of the power of a mother's love for her children.

8- Voyager: Basically All Of It
Janeway is a super mom. She moms everyone around her all day and all night and all day. She moms the hell out of this show for seven years and I love every bit of it. Of course, she's especially mom-ish to Kes and Seven. Her goodbye to Kes in "The Gift" is absolutely beautiful and her relationship with Seven is wonderfully showcased in "Think Tank" "Year Of Hell" and "Hope And Fear."

9- ENT: Home/Awakening
T'Pol's mom has a pretty rough exterior but she truly cares for her daughter and these episodes show us a mother with both a clear understanding of her own ethics and a deep love for her daughter. Again, Vulcan's aren't great at having/showing their feelings so any time you get into these complex "non-emotions" you're getting what Trek does best.

BONUS: All of Lwaxana in all of TNG. 

Life on the Edge of Forever

Yesterday was the 47th anniversary of the premier of TOS's "City on the Edge of Forever." This classic episode is one of my favorites so I queued it up on Netflix this morning and let it run in the background while I was working.

Again, I was surprised by how wonderfully Kirk and Spock work together. How much I like Edith Keeler. How punchy the dialogue is. And, how they managed to find such a stellar (and what would become legendary) episode in the very first season of the show.

In my first post about this episode, I recall writing an awful lot about how good Kirk looks in a flannel shirt and my opinion hasn't changed in the slightest:

Put this man on a paper towel commercial STAT!

Anyway, the other stuff I've been doing this morning: scheduling blog tours and readings for my newly released novel, Awesome Jones, making breakfast, figuring out how long I can put off a trip to the grocery store... all that stuff just takes up my time.

In My Year of Star Trek, do you want to know how much writing I did outside of the blog? Almost none. I wrote a couple articles for The Mary Sue and toward the end of the year I wrote a very short story that was published on Monkey Bicycle a few weeks ago. But, otherwise, I didn't have time to write. I was doing this project. I don't regret it at all. MYOST made me a better writer, a better reader, a more conscientious television viewer, a different kind of fan, and, in the end, a better person.  But, (almost) every day, I watched several episodes of Star Trek and (almost) every day I wrote a post and that became my writing life.

Now, suddenly, it's April. I'm writing about every week or so and I keep trying to tell myself that this isn't the new normal. I miss this project but I keep not writing. Every time I show up here I apologize for not writing. It's a silly thing to do. It's my project and I ought to just write whenever I feel like it. But, it's hard to accept. I keep hoping that I'll find some way to even it out. Work on my fiction five days a week. Blog two. Is this realistic?

As I was watching City on the Edge of Forever, I realized that, like Kirk, I'd managed to slip away from the rest of the world, the rest of life and all the stuff that comes with it, for a long period of time. Like Kirk, I still had to pay bills and deal with every day stuff but my day-to-day activities were spent in the service of a very specific task. Over time, I fell in love with the project. In January, I mourned its passing. And then I returned to a life more risky and uncertain. My book was released and now I'm writing the next one. Reviews are being sought; tours and readings are being scheduled. My work is no longer freely and daily given to the small, loving community that I've cultivated here but to anyone with an Amazon account and three bucks.

Does Kirk think about Edith Keeler in season two or season three while navigating uncharted space? Does he consider going back to The Guardian and trying to find her again? Trying to apologize for not being there? Trying to devise a way to stay in both 1930 and 2270?

I don't know. But, I bet he does. In the end, though, Kirk can't have both. He goes back to life on the Enterprise and never mentions his time spent buying groceries and sweeping floors and taking his girlfriend to the movies. He never sees Edith Keeler again and, for all intents and purposes, that time in his life is swept aside and no longer mentioned. But I don't have to do that. My Year Of Star Trek will go on--if sporadically. And I'll stop apologizing and stop talking about apologizing and, eventually, I'll find a balance.





A Year Ago Tomorrow: My 100th Post

Valentines

I've never been into the Hallmark Holidays. I don't like buying cards. I don't like watching flowers die. I don't like going out to dinner around a lot of other people. But one year, completely by accident, Scott and I celebrated Valentine's Day. It was mid-February around six or seven years ago and we found ourselves at an Indian buffet the day after Valentine's. The only people there were a couple who looked like they'd gone to bed but maybe not to sleep and, thus, Valentine's was still in effect for them. As we ate our chicken tikka and palak paneer in peace, we realized that this was the best time to celebrate the romance between two complete hermits. No one is out. Candy and potted plants are half-price. It's amazing.

So today is my Valentine's Day post. I figured, after a year of following every single Star Trek relationship, I'd write about the best ones.

1- Christine Chapel and Spock:
This one is completely unrequited and, thus, pretty depressing. Still, it's the only ongoing almot-love-affair in The Original Series. Kirk's trysts nearly always lead to <ahem> death. They don't count. I'm tempted to count the Kirk/Spock pseudo-love affair that people have been putting in fan-fiction since the 60's but Kirk has a different true love and I'll get to that later.

2- Troi and Worf:
Yes, Deanna and Riker were imzadis but I always loved the too-little-too-late Troi/Worf relationship. These two were just sexy together.

3- Rom and Leeta:
Yeah, I know I should probably put Jadzia and Worf together and I really did love those two as a couple but the way Jadzia died and the fact that Worf never really got to avenge her in a satisfying way always put a bitter taste in my mouth about them. Rom and Leeta, on the other hand, were amazing. From the moment they got together I was cheering them on and I love that they didn't have some ridiculous tragic end. They were steadfast, true, and supportive.

4- Tom and B'Elanna:
In a franchise that always shied away from any kind of serialization, I love the way the Paris/B'Elanna relationship was allowed to evolve over time. These two complement each other perfectly.

5- Reed and Hayes:
I've already written about how these two could have had the best relationship in all of Trek so I won't go into all that again but I totally ship Reed/Hayes. Their almost-relationship had more depth than most Trek pairings and, if viewed from the point of view that they were a couple, their parting is legitimately heart breaking.

6- Every captain and their ship:
In spite of how much I may love Kirk/Edith Keeler, Picard/Guinan (yes, I prefer this to Picard/Beverly; there's just something about these two), Sisko/Kasidy, Janeway/that Devore inspector guy who always reminds me of Prince Humperdink, and Archer/Captain Hernandez, it's obvious that the real love of these captains' lives is their ship.

As Kirk tells McCoy when the doc asks his captain about a possible interest in Yeoman Rand, Kirk answers, "I've already got one female to worry about. Her name's the Enterprise."




A Year Ago Today: I started Next Gen

Fan Girl Of The Day!

Well, this is pretty cool: A while back I was nominated for Fangirl of the Day over at Her Universe and, today, I got it!  As a chick who predominately shops in the men's section for her geek apparel, I'm so glad Her Universe came along.

Also, this blog recently won an award over at A Peek At Karen's World! My Year Of Star Trek is the "Best Kept Secret," which I rather like.

I haven't been around quite so much lately but I have good reasons for this. I'm in the next-to-last stages of pre-production for my first novel release and, as I was getting ready to send the edited manuscript back to the publisher, I realized (in the eleventh hour) that the artwork needed a change. This book has quite a lot of art inside and I'm doing all of it. As I was prepping everything, I discovered that I needed to go back and re-do some of the pieces for consistency. I've been working on this nonstop about 10 hours a day. Unfortunately that doesn't leave much time for blogging. However, I did get a chance to re-watch The Trouble With Tribbles last night!

I've seen this episode countless times and I know that I always love it and yet it always surprises me with how good it is. Even though the story is about a bunch of purring furballs taking over a space station, the humor is pretty sophisticated. Every exchange plays out to a humorous, often unexpected conclusion--like what Scotty's willing to get in a fight over--and Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are at their very best. The entire barroom brawl is reminiscent of a 60's prime Blake Edwards bit and Cyrano Jones is the perfect villain. The huckster's bubbly, flamboyant nature hides his underlying ability to create real danger making him a great foil, not only for Kirk, but for the Klingon's as well. He's more a force of nature than an insidious character and that works perfectly for The Trouble With Tribbles.

I haven't had much time to get back into Trek lately and I've missed it. It was really great to come back to it with this classic episode.



 I wrote about this episode last year: The Trouble With Tribbles

Last year on this day I drew the Mugato for the third Young Naturalist illustration.

Sneaking Star Trek

Man, it's been quiet around here lately. I've missed you. I've missed this blog. And, as I realized recently, I've really really missed Star Trek.

I (stupidly) anticipated a lot of free time once the new year began but it's been quite the opposite. Basically, while I finished the year, I put off every single other thing that I ought to have been doing. I wasn't writing. I wasn't responding to emails. I wasn't working on art. I wasn't watching any other TV. I was pretty much just watching Star Trek and writing about it. And it was intense.

After a few days, I finally eased back into regular life. Then, on Monday, Scott got up much earlier than I did and ended up wandering off to take a nap. As soon as the door shut behind him you know what I did? I fired up the Netflix. I didn't watch any of the shows I'd been backlisting. I didn't watch any of my old favorite Netflix standbys. I didn't put in any one of the stack of DVDs sitting out because I want to watch them. I turned on Star Trek: The Original Series. I scrolled through the episodes and let it land on a random title. The Naked Time.

It. Was. Glorious.

Yesterday, Scott went off to get some work done. I fired up Netflix.

This afternoon, Scott sat at his desk with his headphones on and suddenly I found myself sneaking Star Trek on my laptop instead of the TV.

Ok, I wasn't really sneaking Star Trek. And, obviously, my husband loves Star Trek but 2013 was my year of Star Trek. And, as much as he loves the show, he was along for the ride while I was driving like a madman and, often, he had no choice but to binge watch six episodes of Voyager while I got caught up. I want him to be able to watch whatever he wants to watch but, every time I turn on the TV, I find myself missing Trek. It has become my comfort food. My softest blanket. My hot cup of tea. My favorite song. It's such a huge part of my life now that I can't go more than four or five days without it.

Right now, I'm watching the TOS crew engage with a group of nasty Romulans in Balance of Terror. And, it is glorious.

The Thing About Foreheads Is...

So, a long time ago, Klingons looked like this:

This is Kor--pretty much my favorite Klingon

Then, The Animated Series came along and the Klingons all started wearing lovely pink outfits but otherwise looked the same:

Then, The Motion Picture happened and all the freaking sudden, the bastards looked like this:

Incidentally, this Klingon is played by my BFF, Mark Lenard

They looked pretty much this way until you get to the lolli-pop-headed Worf in TNG. Luckily, as the seasons went on, he got a freaking gorgeous head of hair and basically solidified the way Klingons looked for the rest of Star Trek.

No matter what the hairstyle though, Klingons were the most conspicuous baddies in The Original Series but from the time Mark Lenard put a giant turtle on his head that was the universal Klingon look. Turtle head = Klingon.

For literally decades, it was something that the Star Trek franchise and fandom glossed over. We all knew the reason behind the change was budgetary as well as technology. The makeup became better and Star Trek got a little more money and, consequently, Klingons would forever look more menacing and less like some regular guys with bubble wrap belts slung over their shoulders.

And then Trials and Tribble-ations happened. The DS9 crew went back in time to the events in Trouble With Tribbles and Worf was asked about the completely flat foreheads of his TOS-era brethren. His answer, "A viral mutation... We do not discuss it with outsiders."

So, then came Enterprise. They said, "You know, we're about to get cancelled and we love tying together all kinds of stuff from the Treks that came before/later. Let's explain this whole Klingon Turtle Head thing."

And they do. It's yet another mini-arc (only two episodes) all about how the Klingons went from having turtle heads to not having turtle heads to getting their turtle heads back. Some people like the Enterprise explanation, some people hate it. I love it. I love Phlox' involvement in it. I love the way all these events play out and the Klingon connection to (what's probably Star Trek's best villain) Khan. I was always content with just sort of imagination retconning ridges onto the TOS-era Klingons. I never needed an additional explanation. However, now that I have one, I love it. And I'm glad I got to see my Enterprise friends do the explaining.

Seven Vs. The Rock

So tonight, for one night only, live (not really) from my living room, this happened:

Also this:

And this: 

Yep, Seven fought The Rock and his People's Eyebrow. She also fought Martok (Well, kind of. The guy who plays her trainer also played Martok in DS9.) After Fight Club's release in 1999 basically every show on TV (Alphas, Bones, Chuck--and that's just the first three letters of the alphabet) has featured an episode wherein one of the characters ends up being forced to fight in some kind of underground fight club. This episode of Voyager, Tsunkatse, came out in 2000 so you have to give it credit for  being an early adopter. 

The funny thing is that this Voyager isn't actually the first Star Trek to feature this trope. That'd be TOS: Bread and Circuses wherein Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are forced to fight in televised gladiatorial games: 

Come to think of it, Star Trek also invented the People's Eyebrow:

5 Things I Never Expected From Following My Year of Star Trek

The following is a guest post from one of My Year Of Star Trek's wonderful readers: 

When I found this blog back in January, I was excited. I love Star Trek, I was intrigued by the blog’s premise, and I looked forward to casually following along. Sometime during those early weeks, though, following My Year of Star Trek stopped being so casual. I decided to watch Trek along with the blog. I knew it would be fun, but I didn’t expect it to have even a fraction of the impact it’s had…

1. To grow a deeper appreciation for Star Trek- The Original Series.  I was not yet born when TOS first aired, and I was a little girl when reruns would be on in our tiny basement apartment. But TOS was my sister’s Trek; Kirk was her captain; he was her father figure, when I was still too young to realize I needed one. Today, my sister and I are as close as sisters can be; back then, however- we didn’t get along at all. The mere fact that Trek was hers meant that it wasn’t mine. Sure, I’ve always had an appreciation and respect for it in the subsequent years, but there was always something that felt “other” to me. There were only three episodes I remember watching when I was little: The Devil in the Dark (it scared me), Miri (it made me sad and worried), and The Trouble with Tribbles (lots of fun). The blog has helped me finally be able to feel that sense of history and the groundbreaking nature of so much of TOS. Being able to watch episodes and read along with reviews and analysis has given me a new understanding and a deeper connection to the show. 

2. To revisit and reflect on an important part of my life with Star Trek: The Next Generation. ST:TNG was my series. I watched it religiously throughout the years it was on, as well as in reruns. I knew all the episode names, and read all the books. I knew the guest stars. What I didn’t have for many of those years, though, was someone to talk Trek with. The TNG years were largely solitary years for me, due to my work and living situation at the time. Being part of a fandom without any real life counterparts to share in it can be lonely- especially back in the pre-internet age. I went to conventions once or twice a year, which was great- but brief. I lived in the NYC area for much of that time, and the show would be on TV pretty often. I lived in an apartment w/a bad cable setup, so the picture was usually scrambled and snow-filled. I taped them anyway. Yup- VHS tapes, episode after episode of fuzzy pictures and garbled dialogue. In the later years, my grandmother started taping episodes for me, labeling them with her barely-legible handwriting. She lived about an hour away from me, and I’d get the tapes when I visited her once or twice a month. I recently found a few of those tapes, and a big smile came to my face when I saw that handwriting I hadn’t seen in decades. Some of these years were bad years for me, but there was always TNG to rely on. Watching the series again, in order, brought back a lot of memories. The show always had a way of leaving me filled with hope, even during darker times. I think of those VHS tapes often, as I touch the Netflix icon with the pad of my fingertip, and any moment of TNG can be at my disposal. Magic, indeed. Who would have imagined this possible back in the day of the scrambled VHS tape? (Oh- nevermind. The obvious answer to that question, of course, is Gene…)

3. To fall head over heels for Deep Space Nine. Oh, I can barely even put my feelings about DS9 onto the page right now.  I have absolutely fallen in love with this series- I think it's now officially my favorite Star Trek. The depth is fascinating, the characters are incredibly complex, and I have become completely attached to this world. So much so, that when I found myself on Season 7, episode 17- Penumbra- I had to stop. I'm not ready to hit this final stretch of episodes, not ready to say goodbye to these people yet. I jumped back to seasons 2 & 3, re-watching some of the earlier episodes that I had skimmed over. There’s no more putting it off, though- I should be finished in the next day or so- and I’m not looking forward to finishing. 

Shortly after DS9 originally debuted, I was traveling and moving around quite a bit, and I was in a general not-watching-much TV period. Since I had been a huge TNG fan, I did watch DS9 from time to time, and I liked it- but it was too hard to keep up with on an erratic watch schedule. I found it too "serious" and complicated most times when I did catch episodes here and there. Following along and watching with My Year of Star Trek has been the first time I've seen a lot of these episodes, and it's certainly the first time I've had a grasp of the bigger picture. I have come to love its complexity, and the depth in its characters. Every character is fully fleshed out, multifaceted, and inevitably flawed- in the realest of ways. I will miss them. I want to watch this series all over again. I can’t though…Voyager awaits.


4. To learn about honesty and openness in blogging. (I’ll keep this part short, because she probably won’t want me turning the spotlight on her.) AshleyRose has crafted one of the most interesting and insightful blogs I’ve come across in a long time. A big part of that is the honesty and openness with which she writes. She seamlessly blends review, social commentary, and personal reflection in a way that draws us in and keeps us there. At times humorous, at times poignant, and always with an authentic voice. We should all take notes. Plus, she shares her artistic gift. Have you seen me as a Banean/Vulcan?

5. To finally see past Enterprise’s theme song. OK, I’m cheating here- we're not there yet. And I’m partly kidding. But somehow, I just know that upon re-watching and following the blog, I’ll finally be able to look past my feelings on that song and give Enterprise another chance. I’m confident that if anything can help me get past it and give this series the attention it deserves, it’s My Year of Star Trek.

KJ Simpson is a science fiction fan who also loves plants, globes, and theme park history. 

She blogs about one of her other passions at www.PlustheMagic.com.