Complex Numbers

Final Frontier

I was born with Star Trek.

Once, I read somewhere that what would become known as The Original Series was greenlit by the studio the same month I got shoved into the world, and I always imagined it happening on the same day. The show made its TV debut later that year.

The series ran no more than three seasons, so if I saw any of them when they originally aired, I don't remember. There's not much I can recall from the first three years of my life, and what memories exist from that time are highly suspect. The first thing I do remember with any certainty was my mom waking me up to view the first moon landing, an event whose significance I would only appreciate much later in life.

Similarly, I'm sure I didn't fully appreciate Star Trek when I was a kid. I remember enjoying the action and the aliens, and wanting very much to be Spock, and I watched the reruns whenever I got a chance, but it was only later that I began to appreciate its nuances and social commentary.

It was still later before I began to cringe at what passed for special effects. Part of that was me becoming more discerning, but part of it was being spoiled by advances in SFX technology. They did the best they could with what they had, I think, and if you watch the contemporary episodes of Doctor Who (Patrick Troughton, Second Doctor era), well, those are even more primitive. But that never really mattered to me - what mattered was the story. At least the Enterprise wasn't powered by lava lamps. Seriously, something in Doctor Who was powered by lava lamps and I can't even.

Since then, of course, we've been treated to numerous other Star Trek series and many movies, some of which were even good. But I can't overstate the impact the original series had on my life. It wasn't just that it inspired me to read more science fiction, or write it, but it was also the vision it had of interpersonal relationships, the spirit of exploration and discovery that is so central to all of science, and the understanding that it is merit, not privilege, that should determine one's position in life. Perhaps as importantly, it provided an optimistic view of the future: hope, not despair. As I am prone to despair and cynicism, I need that sometimes. Sure, it's unrealistic, but when has realism been a prerequisite for a good story?

I'm by no means alone in my appreciation for the show, of course. That imagined world has influenced our real one in significant ways, and also insignificant but very funny ones like when William Shatner's character on Boston Legal opened his flip phone and it chirped. Life, as they say, imitates art.

It's had its ups and downs over the years, but it endures. And isn't that what every creator hopes for?