Monday, October 15, 2007

Stardate 61788.09 - All Good Things...

I own the entire 7-series run of both Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Other than Buffy the Vampire Slayer, these are the only 2 television series I own on DVD.

For the record, ST:DS9 remains my favorite of all the series, but ST:TNG as the first of the modern (post-1960s) Star Trek television shows holds a special place in my heart. Especially since it was on from 1987-1994, and I was in college from 1987-1992, it evokes strong nostalgic feelings in me.

About 5 or so years ago I worked my way through all of the DS9 episodes, start to finish. It took a couple of years because I only really watched them when I had spare time (and/or when television was in re-runs or I was stuck on a plane). A few years ago I started my way through TNG again and finally watched the finale, All Good Things... I will say that the series holds up remarkably well, even the special effects, considering that the first episode was on television 20 years ago.

It is hard for me to wrap my head around that fact - that the first episode of TNG was on television for the first time 20 years ago, and even the finale premiered 13 years ago. As I close in on 40 years of age, I tend to think about these things. Maybe that is why I keep maintaining the crew roster and my USS Excalibur pages, because I am trying to keep hold on a part of my younger days.

Whenever something ends, it always makes me a bit sad. Cheryl jokes that I always need a "what happened to them afterwards" part of any movie I watch, so that during the credits I find out how everything ends years later. Maybe why that is why I liked the last chapter of the final Harry Potter book when no-one else seems to have liked it.

And that is why I liked that Star Trek kept going - the timeline kept marching on with DS9 and then Star Trek: Voyager and the movies. Star Trek: Enterprise jumped back in time, but in a way things were still moving forward. But the movies ended, Enterprise ended, and there was a lot of nothing. Yes, there is a new movie due out at the end of 2008, but it also jumps back into the past and won't actually advance the time line. So still, for now, Star Trek has ended.

And that makes me a little sad.

NYC

3 comments:

JamesF said...

Capt Sawyer: Other than Buffy the Vampire Slayer, these are the only 2 television series I own on DVD.

You should consider getting Firefly. Low investment since it's only one box set, but it's a really good series (and you get three episodes that never aired).

Curt Sawyer said...

I own Firely, but since it wasn't even a full season it barely counts as owning a TV "series".

Trailing Male said...

Firefly - definite must have. I'd love to get the TNG and DS9 sets, but they're still too expensive for me (well, not really, but more than I want to spend).

Next TV series on my DVD list: Babylon 5, series + movies.