To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

Klingons. Vulcans. Ferengi. Betazoids. Androids. Romulans. And of course humans. These are some of the species found in the Star Trek universe. On September 8, 1966, the ship and her crew that are now considered iconic, graced the channel that is NBC for the first time. Star Trek is now one of the largest media franchises. The franchise has come a long way since that first episode. 50 years,12 movies (a 13th on the way) and 5 (soon to be 6) spin-offs later, not to mention the various books, comics, action figures, and video games, Star Trek is alive and thriving. The original series was one of television's first multicultural casts and the show itself has influenced the science world outside of the show. But what is Star Trek really? To me it's not just a show that geeks and nerds watch and geek or nerd out on the science and technology. It's not just a show that has various creatures and various ships. To me it is about the journey that the crew takes through space and how they handle themselves when faced with something that is attacking them or that they just don't understand. While I'm still making my own rounds through the various spin off shows, for now, these are my thoughts on what I have seen so far in no real particular order.

All the Captains: I feel like I should mention that the Kirk shown is a much older Kirk, which is the one thing about this picture I don't like, but I wanted to show the captains with their respective ships, and in Sisko's case, station.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Captain: Jean-Luc Picard

Star Ship: USS Enterprise-D (my favorite version of the Enterprise)

In Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) I am constantly floored by the amount of diplomacy that the Enterprise-D crew shows. Their crew is made up of various types of people and creatures. Their Chief Operations Officer, Lt. Commander Data, is an android. Their Chief Engineer, Lt. Commander Georgi La Forge, is blind and uses a visor to see in his own way. Their Chief Security Officer, Lieutenant Worf, is a klingon. To round everything out, their counselor, Deanna Troi, is a betazoid/human. TNG's crew is diverse and each member brings something different to the table. Whether Data is trying to understand and mimic human behavior and actions, or Worf making sure that his son is reminded of thier Klingon heritage, TNG has an orderly yet easy going feel to it... Until Picard puts the ship on red alert or Q makes himself known or well anything that isn't normal or harmless happens. TNG is set further into the future than the Original Series or Enterprise, so the Federation and Star Fleet have everything figured out and regulated, which in turn gives TNG a more orderly feel and more protocol stuff when dealing with other civilizations.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Captain: James T. Kirk

Star Ship: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) [yes, I do need to put that number]

Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS), the one that started it all. The show takes place when humans have been cruising the galaxy for a while now but still like a small child trying to learn everything they can. The Prime Directive has been created by now and is in place, as well as the United Federation of Planets. It has a "we're sorta making this up as we go along" feel to it, but still orderly as far as how Kirk runs his ship. While it took me a while to warm up to Kirk (I had been used to Picard for a long time), I enjoy watching the TOS crew and seeing the adventures they have and of course, Bones going "Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor not a [insert whatever here]." While the special effects are cheesy (hey, 1966), the story lines are great and Gene Rodenberry created a universe that is amazing and more than I could ever come up with from scratch.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Captain: Jonathan Archer

Star Ship: Enterprise (NX-01) [See why I put the number now]

Set 150 years BEFORE Kirk's voyage, Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT) shows the first vessel capable of long-range exploration of the galaxy. The Enterprise doesn't have deflector shields or phasers, but it does have a phase cannon and a somewhat working transporter. Since this is the first time humans have actually left Earth to explore the galaxy, everything that was known in past spinoffs doesn't exist in this one. There isn't any United Federation of Planets. There isn't a prime directive. In the first episode, humans have only had contact with the Vulcans and don't know what a Klingon is. While I do catch myself groaning, "Ugh, humans." a lot of the time. I find it very interesting to see the reactions of the ENT crew whenever they come across a new species or a concept that is so very foreign to them. In the other shows, humans know more or less what's out there and, in some cases, know how to handle themselves, while in ENT, humans are adapting on the fly. Archer's crew are the only humans that can go where they go at the moment, so by extension, Archer and his crew are the first humans that these species, and cultures, and societies come in contact with. The overall meaning of each episode is so deep that there are moments when I can barely wrap my head around it. It's not some deep philosophical meaning that I try to understand it's that they, Archer and his crew, are the first. They are the very first to do everything that they do, to experience everything they experience, to see everything that they see. Sure they trained for years at Starfleet, but in the far depths of space, there aren't any human space stations or places to just fill up to refuel. There aren't vast files of translation software to easily translate new languages; they have a linguist and advanced (but still basic) translation program to help them decipher languages. They don't have a book that says, "What do if you encounter THIS in space." They don't have the visitor's guide to the galaxy. All they have are themselves, their ship, the Vulcan star charts that while helpful, are really not that helpful, and their instinct. They wake up everyday and have to think, 'I wonder what I'll encounter today and how I'll deal with it.' Ok, maybe they don't think that, but they are making everything up as they go along, while flying blind and hoping they don't blow up (both metaphorically and literally) or completely break down. They are the first, and while I really wish they would figure out the Prime Directive thing already, the fact that they haven't got everything figured out and written down for them is what makes it great. TNG used to be my favorite, now I'm thinking ENT is.

While I've only seen a little bit of TOS and ENT, I have seen a lot (but not a large chunk) of TNG. I'm planning on watching the first few episodes of Voyager and Deep Space Nine at some point as well as tackling the movies one day. So for now, Live Long and Prosper, Sanders Out.