My 100th Post

Well, the title pretty much says it all. This is my 100th post! How did this even happen? It seems impossible that 100 posts ago, it was December and I was sitting in my dad's house in Kentucky, watching "The Cage"on New Year's Eve.

When I began this project, I'd set out to write about my experiences as I filled an entire year with my favorite show. As I say in the "About" section, Star Trek has always been there for me. It has been a constant in my hectic, ever-changing life. I can't remember a time in my history when I wasn't familiar with/talking about/playing pretend/etc. Star Trek and that's the case now more than ever. My days are filled with Star Trek. This project is often the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep. Now, Star Trek is my life. And, I pretty much anticipated that. You can't knowingly binge-watch 700 episodes of a thing and not anticipate some level of daily-life takeover.

Here's the thing that's surprised me though: about once a week, I get an email or a comment from a friend, an acquaintance, or a total stranger, telling me how much they appreciate this blog. I had never intended for this to be a solitary journey (again the "About" section clearly says: join me!) but I'd also never anticipated that my little, personal project might reach so many people. I'm humbled, touched, and beyond grateful for the support that you have shown me and my little project because, as you've read, or you can read, or you will read, this is a very personal endeavor for me.

Star Trek has always been a special part of my life, one I kept close to my heart, one I didn't want to discuss with other fans. I didn't join forums or comment on message boards as I did with other shows (at various times I was a member of X-files, Sailor Moon, and Frasier chatrooms--it was the 90's) but my feelings about Star Trek were tied too closely to my real, personal life for me to share my opinions. My memories of watching "Best of Both Worlds" were still too distinct, too arresting--for me to bring the episode up in conversation with a fan who might say that it was a stupid season finale.

But, thanks to your support and your kind words and just the fact that you show up here every day (for 100 posts) and let me talk to you about my favorite show for a few minutes, I'm not really scared anymore. I'm elated. I'm grateful. And, I can't wait for the next 100 posts.

Now, back to the show. I still have three episodes to watch today!

Star Trek Portrait Winner: Amy

I'm still sick but I think I'm on the other side of it. So, today, I mostly just sat around lamenting the fact that I even have sinuses. But, it is getting better. I think. What I would like to do is write about "The Wounded" which I recently watched but, instead, I think I'll just post this picture of one of the Star Trek Portrait Contest Winners:

Amy is a half-betazoid, half trill 

As a reminder, if you entered the portrait contest, you also won the contest. So, email me a photo of yourself and I'll get to work on your portrait! 

TNG: Family

Obviously Worf is a Klingon. I mean, he kind of stands out. But, did you know he was raised by humans? Russian humans? I'm not sure why, but that seems pretty appropriate. The Rozhenkos took Worf in after his parents were killed in the battle of Khitomer. They raised him as their own but he always seemed out of place, always longing for a culture they could not give him.

In the episode, "Family," the Rozhenkos visit the Enterprise after they return from their battle with the Borg. They're worried about him. They want to talk to him but he's typically clammed up. Finally, they speak to Guinan who informs them that Worf comes to Ten Forward, as many homesick officers do, and stares homeward. Only, he's not staring toward the Klingon home world of Qo'noS; he's looking lovingly toward Earth.

While I was watching this episode (for, I think, the bazillionth time) and thinking about family, and home, I thought a lot about how, when I was little, I used to fantasize about being adopted. I think this is something a lot of kids do. Your parents are frustrating or they let you down or you don't like your house or your room or whatever and you begin imagining that your real parents or someone they've left to care for your incredible destiny will come and take you away from all this. You're Luke Skywalker. You're Harry Potter. You're Superman.

Only, my beautiful foundling fantasies never lasted very long. I look like some Soviet science experiment replicant of my parents. There's absolutely no way I could ever seriously question my lineage. So, instead, I turned toward the future. I thought, "Someday, I won't live here. Someday, I'll be gone from this town. Someday. Someday. Someday."

I grew up in Kentucky and North Carolina. Two sets of mountains. The low bluegrass hills of Kentucky and the steep, misty crags of North Carolina. I've always loved the mountains but I tried to look past their jagged horizon toward my future life--the one where I wasn't some scew-up kid who didn't fit in.

Then, in 2010, I moved to Los Angeles with my husband. I cried the night before we left, terrified at the enormity of it all, at the thought of this monster of a move--crossing three thousand miles in a Honda hatchback we'd started calling, "our shuttle." When we got here, though, and doors started opening and opportunities to do the things we'd always dreamed of formed right in front of us, I understood that we'd found our real life.

I realized today that our life here, in this huge, bustling, crazy place, is kind of our Enterprise.  This is where the adventure happens. This is where we will explore who we are. We will do the work that matters to us and fight the important battles and realize our goals. We are doing what we love and it is paying off. But, every morning, when the sun is rising, I look east. I'm looking toward all those tiny towns, those huge mountains, those rolling hills, and those two strange, imperfect humans who I could never, ever possibly deny are my parents. I'm looking toward the places and people who, whether I loved it or hated it, made me who I am today.

TNG: Season 3 Essentials

Season Three is a pretty big one. I really feel that Star Trek: TNG started to come into its own in Seasons 2-4 so it's really been a joy to re-watch those episodes. Of course, that makes choosing the essentials even harder. After a lot of debate, here's what I came up with:

The Defector
-Watch this one for some sweet, Romulan action.
-There's a whole Shakespearean through-line that's pretty wonderful and the end of this one has some nice bite.
Stand Out Line: Now if these men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the king, who led them to it.
 

Deja Q

-Is it possible to not include a Q episode in an essentials list? I guess we'll see. 

-Basically, in this episode, Q comes to the Enterprise as a human. He's lost all his super powers as punishment for being a jackass. 

Stand Out Line: Very clever, Worf. Eat any good books lately? 

Yesterday's Enterprise 

-Tasha Yar is back and EVERYTHING is wrong. The only person who realizes this is Guinan and, thankfully, Picard listens to her. 

-Seriously, this is one of the most memorable, most beloved episodes of the franchise so seek this one out ASAP. 

Stand Out Line: Geordi, tell me about Tasha Yar. 

The Offspring

-This is the episode wherein Data has a kid. I'm going to let you know up front that it will rip your heart straight out of your body and, while you will get it back, the episode will keep a tiny piece of your heart with it for all of eternity. So... don't say I didn't warn you/encourage you to sit down right where you are and watch it. 

Stand Out Line: This is a most stupendous undertaking.

The Best of Both Worlds: 

-Remember how "The Offspring" ripped your heart out? It's like that. Only kind of worse. 

-This is the Season 3 Finale and it's really a 2-parter. It involves the Borg, Picard, Guinan, and lots of great moments. If you don't watch this, and its second half, you'll be lost when Sisko goes on and on about Wolf 359 for seven years in DS9. 

Stand Out Line: I am Locutus of Borg. 

Runners Up

Sins of the Father

-This is the first truly awesome Worf episode. (Worf-isode?) Not only do we get a lot of scenes with Klingons (who I love) but we get the whole set up of "Son of Mogue" which would end up lasting the rest of TNG and DS9. So, it's kind of iconic. 

-Additionally, we get a new, deeper relationship between Worf and Picard which is pretty priceless all by itself. 

Sarek 

-This is a beautifully, sincerely written episode about what it's like when a beloved, older person begins to lose their mental faculties. Using Sarek, who we've known since TOS, in this episode really heightens the themes here.  And, the scenes between such accomplished and talented actors as Leonard and Stewart are truly heartbreaking. 

-I've read that this episode was, in many ways, about Gene Roddenberry, whose health was beginning to go downhill during the third season of TNG. Like Sarek, he was a father figure, someone we all loved, someone who had made a huge impression. I imagine that, seeing him begin to falter, would have been difficult for everyone involved. 

Portrait Winners Part 1

I don't know if it's allergies or stress or what but today I felt awful just needed to take a break. I still watched three episodes and took notes on all of them and worked on a portrait but I couldn't bring myself to sit at the computer and write. Don't worry, I'll get to it tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's an update on the portrait contest: Basically, everybody won. I couldn't not give everyone a portrait. I love you guys too much for that. Anyway, here are the first fruits of my labor:

Chris the Borg Drone

Here's an interesting thing: Um... apparently the Borg have ridiculously ripped abdominal muscles. I went my whole life never noticing this but when I pulled up reference photos for Chris' portrait, I realized that, apparently being part of the collective means maintaining a peak level of fitness. 

KJ the Banean/Vulcan

Ok, so KJ asked for a Banean/Vulcan appearance. When I first encountered the Baneans, I began referring to them as "feather heads" and, ever since, I have referred to the Voyager episode wherein Paris gets in trouble with a Banean girl, I have called it, "that featherhead episode." 

Alright, that's it for today! Time for me to go back to the strict lying on the couch, drinking sprite and eating graham crackers routine I've kept up all day. 

The Best of Both Worlds

When I was a kid, my parents got divorced. I can't say that I was completely surprised, even then. In those days, it seemed like everyone's parents (in real life and on TV) were splitting up. Still, it was pretty sudden. One day we were all living together and the next day, I was riding in the passenger seat with a coloring book on my lap, trying not to ask too many questions.  I didn't want to make trouble, didn't want to cry and whine, didn't want to be the star of a very special episode of my life.

We left in February and by March I was in a new school in a new town. I had new classmates and, as we'd moved several times before, I was used to the drill. I showed up. I excelled. I didn't make many friends. I didn't do my homework.

Then, all at once, it was summer. Time slowed down. The recent events of my life caught up with me. And, one night, there I was, watching "Best of Both Worlds." My mom was asleep but I wasn't. I was wide awake and I couldn't look away.

My lifelong love of Star Trek hadn't gone anywhere in all this time and I sat there, watching the season finale, by myself. I watched as Commander Shelby upset the balance of the ship. I watched as the Enterprise encountered the Borg and as Picard was suddenly taken. When he turned toward the camera and said, "I am Locutus of Borg," I pretty much lost it.

For several months, I'd kept it together. But, sitting there in a new living room, in a new town, when I hadn't seen my dad in months, I realized how much I needed my Star Trek friends to just maintain the status quo. They had always reliable and steadfast. They were good people doing good things and they didn't need a special reason for it. They were friends. They played poker and gave each other advice and they would all die for each other. They were unchanging and episodic. They were comforting. That's what I needed.

But, on that night in June, that's not what happened. Instead, Locutus of Borg happened and five months of built up tears and fear and anxiety poured out of me as the credits rolled and the familiar music played and I knew I would have to wait all summer to find out whether Picard would be ok. Whether my Star Trek friends would be ok. Whether I would be ok.

An Elaborate Practical Joke

When I was about eleven years old, I discovered Sailor Moon. Thanks to my artsy/SciFi-loving dad, I'd watched a lot of anime over the years but Sailor Moon was the first one that really, really spoke to me. I became obsessed. I collected Sailor Moon trading cards, kept a book of Sailor Moon inspired sketches, and even learned html back in 1998 so I could have my very own Sailor Moon website. I always felt like a Sailor Jupiter but there was something about Sailor Mercury--Amy--that always appealed to me. On every Amy doll, every Amy trading card, every Amy bio online, it said that Amy "dislikes practical jokes." That really stood out to me. I mean, it's one thing to "dislike practical jokes" but it's a whole other thing entirely for that little tidbit of information to show up wherever you are mentioned. You must REALLY "dislike practical jokes." But that meant something to me because, if I had a trading card with my stats all over the back, there would probably be a sentence about how I dislike practical jokes too.

And that brings me to the Star Trek side of all of this. Star Trek is a show without irony and that's something I love about it. It's about good people trying to do the right thing all the time. They have a tendency to not play practical jokes because, you know, it's the future and they're all beyond that. Except for one thing. One massive, gigantic, crazy prank which all of Starfleet Command is in on:

The Kobayashi Maru.

The Kobayashi Maru is a simulation designed to test the cadets in the command track at Starfleet Academy. It's a hard test. A really hard test. Actually, an impossible test. You get in there, you get your crew of other, exemplary cadets together and you try your very best to rescue the crew aboard a doomed starship named the Kobayashi Maru. You fire photon torpedos. You beam the crewmen over to your ship. You turn tail and run, leaving the marooned ship behind. You could try different maneuvers all day long but it won't change anything. You're still going to lose. That's because the Kobayashi Maru is actually testing your reaction to the "un-winnable scenario."

I know it's supposed to be a high-minded, super-smart way to test cadets under pressure but it just seems to me (and Kirk) like a jerk thing to do. Whatever. That's why me and Sailor Mercury would be in the science track instead of command.