Revisiting Star Trek

There is something about paper cut-out sets and aluminum foil glued on cardboard that makes for a classic spaceship control room. Seriously, those old Enterprise control rooms from the 1960's Television show are ancient now. Who would have thought that such hammy over-the-top production would be the spawning of a world of content supported by generations of loyal followers? When pondering this Star Trek phenomenon, you might be asking yourself...why?...how?...huh?


The answer, I believe, lies in the genre, and the charm of a handful of unlikely heroes defying odds all over the galaxy. Let's be quite clear about something. A story without identifiable characters cannot be a good story. Captain James T. Kirk is a house-hold name, as is Spock, his pointy-eared friend and colleague. Their characters' celebrity is not by coincidence. By the genre, I'm referring to science-fiction. 


I think science-fiction isn't given enough credit as a genre. I would argue that science-fiction has paved the way for many progressive leaps and bounds in storytelling. Somehow, because it is, in fact, fiction, we are not as afraid as we otherwise might be when depicting other races and cultures in the worlds we create. It's an exciting world, because it has not happened, yet. We can hypothesize. We can envision a possible future where the problems of today are long gone, where humans have evolved and we've become better as a people. This is what science-fiction is about. Where is there a more liberating place to study and, in effect, perpetuate the human condition? It's a place where reality has only the power we allow it have. This is the appeal of Star Trek, and you don't have to be a science geek to enjoy the experience. 


Whoa...might have gone a little too deep there for a moment. Anyhoo....


So, I had seen the latest film in theaters and it was fantastic. I was just having another look at it on Blu-Ray, and it looks stunning. It was just as enjoyable if not more so the second time I saw it. The film was a great success in large part because it re-established the characters we know so well. Of course, it didn't hurt to have mind-blowing visuals here and there. I don't think the chairs were made out of cardboard, either.