tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post6222104707642305366..comments2024-03-28T14:49:36.133-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Week: An IntroductionJohn Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-61138417508723563022016-09-06T22:01:10.895-04:002016-09-06T22:01:10.895-04:00John,
Beautifully written and eloquently stated se...John,<br />Beautifully written and eloquently stated sentiments regarding Star Trek. Thank You for this.<br />My childhood (as you may be aware by now) was absorbed by Lost In Space, but Trek was ever-present and gradually earned my affections. I, too, first experienced it in syndication, and have many fond memories associated with watching the series with family and friends.<br />I've also touched upon seeing Star Trek - The Motion Picture and how profound it was for me at the time. This past summer, I was able to see Star Trek Beyond with the same friend with whom I had seen The Motion Picture in 1979. Upon the closing credits of Beyond, I turned to my friend and said "Do you realize that we've been watching Star Trek for almost our entire lives?" A woman sitting nearby overheard and smiled at this statement; I'm pretty sure she concurred.<br />It's really remarkable to think about how Roddenberry was able to create a legacy that continues, and a message that remains relevant even today.<br />This point was brought home during a recent screening of 2009's Star Trek film at the Hollywood Bowl, with a live performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. All around me were seated people of every race, creed, color and age. The message still has resonance, and gains strength in difficult times.<br />Here's to 50 more years.<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-4377466744557243462016-09-05T15:55:12.832-04:002016-09-05T15:55:12.832-04:00A lucid summary of Star Trek's perennial appea...A lucid summary of Star Trek's perennial appeal for the past <br />half a century, a show that, at its best, offered us a rational <br />and humanistic vision of our possible future. Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15341194802921963879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-56190291292686222212016-09-05T11:12:46.133-04:002016-09-05T11:12:46.133-04:00John wonderful thoughts on STAR TREK. Fifty years ...John wonderful thoughts on STAR TREK. Fifty years is simply amazing. Star Trek has always been my absolute favorite in science-fiction television a very close second only to Space:1999(1975-77). The original eleven foot Enterprise is in the Smithsonian because this series was and is still relevant. For myself, as a boy on Friday December 7th 1979 Star Trek:The Motion Picture (1979) was a religious experience too. I have always liked the Kirk era of Star Trek the best whether it is Shatner or J.J. Abrams with Chris Pine.<br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-45829201308706045212016-09-05T09:28:47.212-04:002016-09-05T09:28:47.212-04:00Fifty freaking years! Fifty years of nearly conti...Fifty freaking years! Fifty years of nearly continuous TV exposure, conventions, zines, novels, movies, fan fiction, and obsessions over canon minutiae. You know, I think the closest equivalent of the Star Trek cultural reach was probably Sherlock Holmes, another fictional universe that not only spawned a full-bore fandom that expanded and lived on, but also touched the real-world in ways A.C. Doyle never imagined. Building on Poe's observant investigator unraveling a mystery, Doyle managed to create a duo so captivating that readers placed themselves willingly in that universe and insisted that it never end. And with the advent of that cultural impact, Holmes fiction ultimately led to the very idea of criminology as "science": evidence analysis, fingerprinting, chemical analysis, and methodical investigation of details. <br /><br />Both Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes caused vast numbers of people to ponder a future in which "it must be possible to do this", which is a simple but bottomless wellspring of ideas. People have been trying to actually implement Star Trek for half a century. May we all keep trying.<br /><br />One thing I think gets mentioned too rarely, though it seems obvious, is the cross-cultural impact of the Gemini and Apollo programs. The fact that we were watching an actual space program develop to encounter the unknown, with all of its attendant problems, made it all surreally alive! Remember, the Apollo I disaster occurred in midst of Star Trek season 1 on January 27, 1967. Men died horrifically in service to the future, and it suddenly seemed necessary to imagine it wasn't all for naught, that we were going to *get there*, we were going to aim for the stars and make it. I think this is probably the biggest reason Star Trek was elevated above mere fantasy in our collective consciousness.Sherinoreply@blogger.com