It’s no secret that Star Trek was my first fandom. I have fond, if disjointed, memories of sitting on that ugly brown coach with my Dad watching that first incarnation of Kirk and Spock and Bones.
I remember when I first learned they were making The Next Generation. I was sure it was a huge mistake. Star Trek: TOS held such a high place in my memory that I could not conceive that any “remake” would be a good thing.
We were living in El Paso, Texas when TNG premiered, and that first episode didn’t fill me with the love I would come to have for that crew.
Over the next few years, TNG became as big a part of my life as TOS was when I was little. And then came Star Trek: First Contact. We didn’t know at the time that Star Trek would become what it has today, we didn’t know then that millions of people would begin to mark April 5 as First Contact Day.
We didn’t know we’d find ourselves in a timeline where we have so much Trek content to consume, that we’d get Picard back so many years after TNG ended, or that we’d get Discovery or Strange New Worlds. We didn’t know that Wil Wheaton would become such a beloved nerd and host of The Ready Room.
I for one Trekker am quite pleased with this part of our timeline. Not so much the ongoing proof that we are in no way ready for first contact, nor does it look like we’ll be prepared by 2063, when the Vulcans are supposed to arrive.
I’d hoped we would have learned a few lessons by now. I guess we’re still learning.
Happy First Contact Day, Readers. May you live up to the expectations of the Federation.
And then there’s this picture of Katie Bouman, one of the scientists on the project as she sees all of that work coming to fruition. Look at the joy and wonder on her face. That is the face of someone who loves her work, who has passion for her work and is genuinely in awe of the universe at her fingertips.
