Star Trek

50th Anniversary

Star Trek has been around for 50 years. I’ve been around for 32 of those.

A Brief History

1990: I like watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with my dad. Sometimes we make models of the ships (the AMT/ERTL kind). I will insist on using neon paints – everything glows on spaceships, right?

1996: I’m in nerd heaven. Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are on the air, and I’m outrageously excited for Star Trek: First Contact to come out in theaters. I see an MSD (Master Systems Display) mockup of the new Enterprise and I am pumped… I get teased a little by my peers.

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2000: High school. I’m socializing and doing some sportsing. I still love science fiction but I tone it down on Star Trek. It’s just not cool. Dad (who gets rid of everything) will keep all of our Star Trek memorabilia, toys and models, which, years later, I will enshrine in my apartment.

2004: College is keeping me busy. I don’t have a TV, I’m in the swing dancing club, and I don’t think much about Star Trek anymore until a friend and I, bored, rent Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It’s a fun adventure / mystery story and I find I missed everything about it.

2009: Star Trek is in theaters. It’s kind of a blast! I’m in grad school for entertainment technology and I wonder if I’ll ever get to work on a Star Trek project someday. I’m self-trained in 3D modeling and my favorite things to create are starships.

2012: My girlfriend and I watch the entire run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Netflix, creating an unbreakable bond between us.

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2014: Now we’re engaged, and we meet Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner at a Star Trek convention in San Francisco. We wear shirts that I designed (and that won an award), and Frakes is clearly excited about it, much to Spiner’s chagrin. My peers do not tease. They are jealous.

The Present: I care about Star Trek a lot. It shows a future where our differences are a strength and everyone works together for the betterment of humanity. There are still problems and the galaxy is dangerous, but there is a sense of optimism and a dedication to doing the right thing. Above all, Star Trek shows that by exploring the cosmos, we understand more about ourselves, and humanity is better for it. Growing up with Star Trek taught me that self-improvement is a noble goal, and that while we all have failings, we may always strive to be better.