Twenty years ago this week (on the last Saturday of September, here in Denver), the very first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired. After getting over the harsh reality that I'm now old enough to have clear memories of things that happened twenty years ago, I have to say I'm pretty nostalgic about the whole thing.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is where I actually became a Star Trek fan. I had seen all the movies (four only, at that point), and caught a few episodes of the original series here and there, but didn't really go out out of my way to find the ones I'd missed. But I was curious about The Next Generation.
I can remember it so clearly because it aired the week my family moved into a new house (the one my parents have to this day). I watched the show on the floor of my new bedroom, which at that point in time had nothing in it but a mattress and the television itself -- with rabbit ears, since the cable hadn't been hooked up yet.
Today, I look back and realize that the show didn't really get consistently "good" until its third season, but at the time, I thought it was pretty amazing. I remember a few weeks later, the new episode aired on Halloween, and I actually ditched out on half my trick-or-treating plans to be home at the time of the new episode. I was hooked.
Of course, that addiction ultimately had a really huge impact on my life, since it led to me finding the CCG based on it, which in turn led to my becoming a game designer.
And it all started there on the floor of my empty bedroom twenty years ago.
8 comments:
When I was "growing up" I remember hearing the adults talk about (what is now referred to as) ST:TOS in a "I remember watching those when I was young" kinda way. even when watching TNG I realized I would be talking about it to kids in the future the same way. and now here we are.
I, too, have countless good memories related to things that originated in Star Trek-ness. something about life's tapestry here? (ugh maybe it's a good thing I can no longer quote episodes like I used to...)
let's all raise are mugs of Earl Grey tea and toast to the crew of the Enterprise-D!
the mole
And Buffy turns 10 this year. The show, not the girl.
there is a good little exerpt in this week's Entertainment Weekly about it.
Most interestingly, I found, while cleaning my apartment, a picture I drew in a notebook before TNG started out, complete with some interesting "errors" that sprang from the fact that it was unclear as to what certain things were yet. Picard was called "Julius" Picard, and the Enterprise was described as "like the Excelsior except with a bigger dish". The picture totally reflected that. I was reading anything I could get my hands on about this new "Star Trek". I was so into it... And I ate so many Cheerios that to this day I can't stand the stuff :D
---G
I watched the premiere with my brother on an early Saturday evening. I remember being blown away by the whole thing.
I wonder if those two horny space jellyfish are okay.
mole -- My Earl Grey (hot) is in hand and raised for the occasion!
jason -- Love me some Buffy. It's hard to feel that show's 10 years old though, because it really went off the air not too long ago. (Feels like even less, when you think that Angel hung around another year after that.)
aabh -- Oh, right, the Cheerios! This was to hope to win the contest to get a walk on part on the show, right? I remember that. I'm pretty sure that the episode where we see Riker chase two kids out of the briefing room before a conference begins... those are the two kids. (And how the hell they got into the briefing room, considering you can only do that from the back of the bridge, we'll never know.)
I still have my copy of "The Plan" for STCCG from 1997 :) I didn't follow the game too closely after 1998, but it still looks like most of it was used in some way, like Battle side decks, Tribbles, and Rules of Acquisiton cards.
Speaking of First Edition, I once got to put Transfiguration on John Doe.
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