Five Reasons I Love Star Trek
Star Trek has been a part of my life since I was a kid. Every Saturday night, I would eat homemade pizza or chicken wings with my brother while watching a TNG episode. Right from the first episode, I loved the show. From there, I went on to watch DS9 and Voyager. While there are many reasons why I love Star Trek, here are five reasons I love TNG (some apply to other series too)…
1. It’s about co-operative problem solving
A lot of times, sci-fi focuses on a single hero or a small band of heroes fighting their way to victory and battling with one another along the way. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that kind of story, but it’s nice to see a series that prizes science, problem solving, and teamwork.
2. It teaches us about ethics, compassion, and what it means to be human
This is true of many sci-fi series (*cough* BSG *cough*); but, for me, TNG is one of the shows in the top tier. “The Measure of a Man”, anyone?
3. Forwarding diversity and inclusion in both television and sci-fi
I’m not arguing that TNG was perfect in respect to diversity and inclusion. It wasn’t. I believe it did, however, improve diversity and inclusion in sci-fi over its run.
4. Complex characters
Again, TNG wasn’t perfect in this regard – and definitely had some issues with resetting characters at the end of each episode; but, it did show the complexities of life, showing characters dealing with issues in relation to work, family, love, ethics, morals, culture, etc.
5. The universe
The Star Trek universe is dangerous and, yet, who’s a fan of the series and doesn’t want to live there? At one point in my life, I even considered becoming an engineer just so I could work under Geordi La Forge on the Enterprise D. While I grew up and realized that this isn’t what happens if you become an engineer, I would still love to spend even just a day in the Star Trek universe… as long as I’m not a red shirt.
If you love Star Trek too – or even just kinda like it, you can catch me performing with my improv troupe, The Dandies at Toronto ComiCon this weekend. You can find us in Room 801:
Friday, March 17 at 7 PM
Saturday, March 18 at noon
Sunday, March 19 at noon
In the words of The Dandies… Laugh long and prosper!