My sons and I enjoyed a special treat this week - taking in a Wednesday after-school matinee to see the remake of "Star Trek". As someone who has been a Trek fan since Junior High - when the TV show had been gone for several years, and the first disappointing film was still several years off - it was fun to take my own kids and give them their first meaningful exposure to the canon. And the movie was good, too!
I had never really considered what a leap Trek has taken in pop culture, but it now joins Superman, Batman and James Bond in the late-American folk story library. (I know Bond is British- sue me.) For better or worse, these characters - Kirk and Spock and McCoy, et al - have secured their places in the national conscience, and our children will now likely be passing their stories along to their children... not bad for a TV series that was cancelled due to low viewership after three seasons!
Now that Brad and Spencer have been exposed to the origins of the Trek characters, it will be interesting to see if they want to expand their interest by checking out the other movies. I'd say Spencer will definitely want to check them out - With the revival of Indiana Jones, he has now seen all four "Indy" movies, and he's fluent in "Star Wars" as well. If the 80's cheese-fest of Shatner and company can hold Spencer's interest, we'll all know for sure that good story and character development can survive the times they were created in!
One good side effect of exposing my kids to things like "Star Trek" is that it gives them a better understanding of where some of their Dad's common phrases come from. Someday soon, I expect they'll know why their Dad tells them "resistance is futile". They'll be able to figure out why I say "nuclear wessels" instead of "nuclear vessels". Or why, when we're leaving the kids at home alone, I tell Brad "you have the conn".
It's the little things in life that count. And if you don't what I was referring to just now, then you need to see more Trek, too!
Live long and prosper!
