Star Trek Memories: Content Team

pwlaughingtrendy

In our latest series, the Star Trek Online team shares their memories of Star Trek and how they became the fans that they are.

Our first blog shows off the content team and how they fell in love with Star Trek.

~Morrigan "LaughingTrendy"

daveyny

NICE!

Star Trek was the first show I got to stay up past my "School Night" bedtime to watch.
(after begging my mom all afternoon)

Saw the first episode the first night it aired, September 8th, 1966 at 8:30 PM, I was about month away from turning 8 years old...

Was hooked from that point on.

I was probably one of the few people who was ecstatic, when it got moved to Friday nights for the second season.

Had to beg my mom again when in the third season it moved to 10PM on Fridays, that was waaaaay past my bedtime.

kurumimorishita

Groovy!

The love for stargazing and space/planets in general brought me to TNG first (I incidentally watched that cool intro of our solar system for the first time sooo many years ago and was drawn into ST ever since). Via one of the best episodes of DS9, I also found a love for TOS later, too.

Live long and prosper \V/,

chozoelder2nd

This was a fun read. I hope to see more from the rest of the team.

vengefuldjinn

My Father watched Star Trek TOS in syndication when I was just a wee one, but The Trekie bug didn't bite me until The Motion Picture came out, I was still a wee bairn, but my dad took me to see TMP and I remember being in awe of the shiny new refitted Enterprise. I fell in love with that Enterprise at that moment, and the constitution refit has been my favorite Star Trek ship ever since. I also remember vividly being terrified during that transporter malfunction scene.

After that, I started watching TOS with my dad and by the time The Wrath of Kahn came out, I was sooooo hooked, I became quite literally a card carrying Trekie, ( I was a member of some fan club or another, can't remember which one), who never missed an episode and went to conventions whenever Creation, brought Trek to the Boston area.

Every Halloween, my costume during my teen years was simple, a pair of Spock's ears I bought from some specialty shop.

Many years later:
When this game came out, my first Character I wanted to make was of course, a Vulcan scientist, after my favorite Star Trek character.

hypl

So...why doesn't this level of passion and dedication reflect the current state of the game? It's been six years and STO still feels like it's in beta. The game feels like it's taking on cargo while the hull is forming breaches. And engineers only have duct tape to work with.

Your words leave very little impression. Show me that you care about your work through action. Address the game's long underlying problems instead of pushing them back or outright ignoring them. Players have been trying to work with you for years in this regard, but it seems our words have fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes.

daveyny

... and a Voice of DOOOOM strikes once again...

friendlyfire2012

Why is there so much focus on TIME TRAVEL? Tell you what after this next expansion, pm me and I'll give you a suggestion for the next thing after that.....

racerexia

I was 3 years old and the Wrath of Khan movie had just been released, my mom being a bit of a fan of the show and of Ricardo Montalbán just had to watch it. She took me along and through most of the movie I was riveted to the edge of the seat, quietly absorbing everything that was going on, terrified of the ear bugs and goggle eyed at the ships and space. Then the scene when Spock *spoiler* sacrifices himself for his crew happens and I just started wailing and screaming no again and again. Then I calmed down for the funeral scene, I was totally immersed and was relieved at the hope that was shown in that jungle planet towards the end.

When Leonard Nimoy left us for the stars one last time, I re-lived that moment at the movie theater in a vivid flashback, and the feeling of hope I am sure he would have wanted us to keep. I love Trek and I love the stories and the actors that inspired that hope, that even when and end has come, there are new beginnings, new possibilities for us to explore.

davefenestrator

hypl wrote: »

So...why doesn't this level of passion and dedication reflect the current state of the game? It's been six years and STO still feels like it's in beta. The game feels like it's taking on cargo while the hull is forming breaches. And engineers only have duct tape to work with.

Your words leave very little impression. Show me that you care about your work through action. Address the game's long underlying problems instead of pushing them back or outright ignoring them. Players have been trying to work with you for years in this regard, but it seems our words have fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes.

I disagree 100%. I've been watching Star Trek for decades now, going back to seeing TOS in reruns and TNG from the first episode. The story episodes, especially the lower level ones, feel like Star Trek to me.

They should get another actor to re-do the Guardian of Forever though, so painfully cheesy

captaind3

I honestly couldn't tell you when I started watching Star Trek. It seemed to all come at once really. My earliest memories are in my grandparent's house, sitting in front of the TV in my Mom's room after kindergarten. I remember my heart pounding with the countdown as first Decker's shuttle and then the Constellation were drawn into the maw. As a child you have no perception of the "hero can't die" trope so the suspense was real. I remember being scared before Decker's PTSD induced revenge obsession, and looking back I had no concept of the deep feeling of guilt he was carrying around. I suppose that's why I hold The Doomsday Machine as my favorite TOS episode in a walk. But TOS on Fox 35, every weekday evening at 6pm I think.

I think I saw The Wrath of Khan on HBO, because it was well into my system early on. I was only one when it first came out.

I was seven when I heard that TNG was coming. I was all aboard. I didn't like the Enterprise-D at first, I think just because of how hard it was to draw. Then came saucer separation. I had fallen in love with the Excelsior maybe. Funny enough I can't remember when I first watched Star Trek III. I know I wore out my Dad's copy of the tape rewinding the stealing the Enterprise scene. The other TOS films are interesting. Star Trek V was the first one I saw in the theaters and I actually liked it. Still do, it was funny. I appreciate that Bones had intentionally trolled Spock by pranking him by having the computer call it a Marshmellon. Wish that had made it into the film. And seriously. "I need My pain." "What does God need with a starship?" Great moments. And it had Captain Klaa and Vixis. The film that I saw last was the Voyage Home.

Anyway, as soon as TNG came out, it basically became a ritual part of my life, Fox 35, Sunday night 6pm, every on season week for seven years straight. DS9 would come on at seven before TNG ended, and then it took that 6pm spot. Twelve years solid I think. Family viewing.

I was a teenager before I found out that my father was a Trekkie from way back...actually a nerd in general, only copy of the Death of Superman I ever saw was his.

Voyager was trickier, as we didn't have cable then and UPN reception was crappy, but I still managed to watch it. From 1999-2004 I was in the Navy, which is the only thing that kept me from seeing every first run episode of Voyager and Enterprise. That said, I joined the Navy, because it was the military closest to being on a starship...and the recruiter had the best pitch. That said, while I didn't serve on her, I had the distinct honor of setting foot... on a ship called Enterprise. She was beautiful.

I enjoyed Star Trek Legacy, but you can't find it anywhere anymore.

This game basically gives me my basic Star Trek fix.

vengefuldjinn wrote: »

My Father watched Star Trek TOS in syndication when I was just a wee one, but The Trekie bug didn't bite me until The Motion Picture came out, I was still a wee bairn, but my dad took me to see TMP and I remember being in awe of the shiny new refitted Enterprise. I fell in love with that Enterprise at that moment, and the constitution refit has been my favorite Star Trek ship ever since. I also remember vividly being terrified during that transporter malfunction scene.

That was a glorious moment in cinema, with the "The Enterprise" playing in the background. That is how you introduce a starship.

mustrumridcully0

I thing my first exposure to Star Trek was (on German TV in the 80s) to TOS. At some point I heard the news that a new Star Trek show was finally arriving in Germany and watched it. I think I didn't quite understand the details at the point - was was supposed to be Spock or some such thoughts went through my head. But I followed the shows.
I remember that as a teenager or so I tried to get the Technical Manual of the Enterprise (A TNG book). Of course it was in no book store in my town, but I was able to order it at one of it. It tooks weeks to arrive, and I visited the store regularly to check if it was already there.
I read plenty of TOS novels (I didn't enjoy the TNG novels at that time, even though I was more of a TNG fan when it came to shows) as child and teenager.
As a kid there was also a phase where I basically wanted to be a Vulcan and be strictly logical - which isn't really something a kid can do, but I tried.

The moral and ethical values represented in TNG resonated with me and probably shaped my views. In retrospect sometimes it can appear a bit preachy and overly idealistic now, but as much as I like (or even now prefer) some other later science fiction shows like Farscape or Battlestar Galactica, I think I would rather expose a kid to TNG then contemporary shows...

antonine3258

My first exposure were grainy re-runs of TOS being broadcast in syndication on a station we could barely pick up.

The first one I remember was 'Journey to Babel' - I remember the 'cut power' moment distinctly, somehow.

Then TNG started. On a station easier to see - I remember watching both, and then getting cable and starting to see the movies....

TNG's got a huge place in my heart - rewatching the early seasons now, I understand a lot more what was going on.

vengefuldjinn

captaind3 wrote: »

That was a glorious moment in cinema, with the "The Enterprise" playing in the background. That is how you introduce a starship.

You know, I'd been waiting for a moment like that since !

The Enterprise is really the star of Star Trek, at least that's how I feel. Every new lovely incarnation deserves a loving cinematic tribute.

I thought for sure we'd get one introducing the Enterprise E. Sigh, at least we got that scene where she came to the Defiant's rescue.

We sorta, got a moment with the first JJ Trek, when they introduced the new alternate Enterprise, but somehow it didn't feel the same to me. The mood was off, wrong somehow.
Now that they've gone and destroyed that one too, maybe we'll get a wonderful drydock scene when they rebuild her and re-launch her fabulously refitted ? I want fanfare !

One can hope anyway....

daveyny

friendlyfire2012 wrote: »

Why is there so much focus on TIME TRAVEL? Tell you what after this next expansion, pm me and I'll give you a suggestion for the next thing after that.....

WHY, do you not understand the gist of this thread?

smh

dareau

When I was but a pup of about 5, I remember watching "Old School" Battlestar Galactica's first run, and Trek was in syndication then.

After that, it was Trek, BSG reruns, and Buck Rodgers...

My horizons broadened tremendously when, being the avid cartoon watcher I was at the time, my Grandma's "tube needs to warm up but sound worked from the on switch" TV had my channel-surf stumble on "Prince Zordar" and I said "Leave this channel" expecting "Battle of the Planets" but running into Star Blazers instead when I was like 8...

And lets just say that the "good" Sci-Fi bug hasn't left me to this day...

evilmark444

Q Who? and Best of Both Worlds are the reasons I fell in love with Trek, needless to say, the Borg are my single favorite race in all of Trek.

sthe91

That was a very nice summary of some of the content team's experiences of how they fell in love with Star Trek.

First, I started getting into it with The Next Generation in my teens, that was my starting point, then I went backwards and watched a few reruns on The SciFi Channel (Syfy, my butt) of TOS when my parents had some breaks for missions conferences as well as watched a few that I don't exactly remember on the horrible channel AXN. The reason I got into Star Trek: The Next Generation was because a family called the Vanderzwaags had a lot of videos they were trying to give away since they were moving, so we took pretty much all that they had most were TNG, some were DS9, and at least one was Voyager. Sadly, when we left Colombia we had to leave some in storage and could only take a select few over to the U.S. thankfully they all made it safely there. The rest in storage are probably gone now.

Secondly, after being in Colombia for eight years due to my parents being Christian missionaries, they rented a place in southern New Jersey. Around that time, was when Enterprise came on. We got UPN and my dad and I watched Enterprise in clear picture even though we had rabbit ears(if we needed them), I was so happy. Of course, during that time 2000 to a certain time, science fiction and other shows were hits, so there was a lot of science fiction and action TV series on. There was Andromeda, Beastmaster, Relic Hunter (which I have watched all the episodes, was not really into it during that time), and of course Enterprise. Later on after being in Peru for 2 and 1/2 years, there was a time when channel 9 had reruns of TOS on Sundays I think it was, so I watched a few until they stopped airing, which stunk.

Thirdly, sometime around there I rented Star Trek from Blockbuster when that was a thing and we could afford it. Then, I watched all the seasons of Enterprise when they were free on the CBS website (those were the days!), since I did not watch all of them before I went to Peru. Also watched Star Trek: The Animated Series, some of the episodes were good but some seemed more like edutainment. Still think it is interesting that the dude doing the animating or something like that was colorblind, hence the pink uniforms which were supposed to black or brown, whatever the color was. I borrowed TNG DVDs from the library and watched some TNG online on the CBS website (when that was a thing). Don't know what season, I stopped at probably three or one after that. Have not finished watching TOS and still trying to get through Season 6 of Voyager but that episode Muse always freaks me out with the knife, but soon I will get past that. Finally a few years ago, watched Star Trek: Into Darkness in theaters. Can't wait for Star Trek: Beyond! That will be a treat for me during the summer.

bughunter357

Every day after school I would come home to watch the re-runs of ToS on ABC channel 13 @ 4 p.m., then when my parents took me to see TMP the Enterprise scene was where I really fell in love with Enterprise and cried when kirk set the self destruct in STIII TSFS, at the time I liked star trek V but now think it's one of the worse films made it was trek but with ToS fx (atleast the phaser were). I saw every movie in theaters (even the JJ ones enjoy them all) when TNG was running I remember how pissed I was when a episode (can't remember which one) got interrupted by the news of the U.S. bombing Baghdad, from there I watched DS9 and Voyager every week when it was on, when I was in my twenties I remember trying to watch Enterprise but the reception to UPN was crappy so rewatching it on netflix recently was fun. I played the sega star trek game still have the cartridge around somewhere, also played Starfleet Command and later on my sister got me a bundle pack with SFC and a star trek RTS (can't remember the name of it off hand), later when I heard about STO coming I was excited but disappointed about it being a p2p game so about 6 months after it launched I saw a announcement on facebook about season 2 and the option to come and play the demo and I thought why not so I downloaded it and had troubles logging in and spent a week on the forums trying to figure out why I could not connect finally just about when I was going to give up a forum mod suggested I try something and bingo I was in and I played the demo and was hooked, the next week I went and bought my first copy from wal-mart and subbed till the game went F2P about a year later a friend on mine that I have been gaming for years with bought me the LTS, I eventually got the collectors edition and the steam version just so I could get the goodies that came with them.

ganondorf2003

When my father was still a teen both he and his father loved watching the original series. When I was just five years old my parents took me to see Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. From that moment on I've been hooked on the Star Trek universe. Growing up me and my father would catch various episodes of TNG and DS9, and some early VGR. In 1998 I met the woman who would be my wife, such a wonderful woman more than I ever deserved. And as fate or luck would have it she is a bit TNG fan, so of course we went to the movies when they would come out and finish off the last of DS9, VGR and all of ENT. Now that my father is getting older and I know that there is less time ahead than behind we have started going to the new Star Trek movies on opening night. While those movies are different from the Star Trek I grew up with I really enjoy them for two main reasons. One, love the idea of making memories that will last a life time. Two its a different trek for a different generation. Later this year when Star Trek Beyond comes out my father and I are introducing a cute little package to the world of Star Trek. My sister's daughter is old enough now to enjoy the movies. So its time to bring what would be a fourth generation to the Star Trek universe.

p4hajuju

I was born in 1979 in Finland.

I remember seeing TOS in the Eighties so maybe 1985-1990 at some point. The thing I remember is Wolf in the Fold, it gave me nightmares. It was a scary episode that haunted me again when I watched that episode later again.

Thank you for trying to make something Star Trek even now.

captaind3

mustrumridcully0 wrote: »

I thing my first exposure to Star Trek was (on German TV in the 80s) to TOS. At some point I heard the news that a new Star Trek show was finally arriving in Germany and watched it. I think I didn't quite understand the details at the point - was was supposed to be Spock or some such thoughts went through my head. But I followed the shows.
I remember that as a teenager or so I tried to get the Technical Manual of the Enterprise (A TNG book). Of course it was in no book store in my town, but I was able to order it at one of it. It tooks weeks to arrive, and I visited the store regularly to check if it was already there.
I read plenty of TOS novels (I didn't enjoy the TNG novels at that time, even though I was more of a TNG fan when it came to shows) as child and teenager.
As a kid there was also a phase where I basically wanted to be a Vulcan and be strictly logical - which isn't really something a kid can do, but I tried.

The moral and ethical values represented in TNG resonated with me and probably shaped my views. In retrospect sometimes it can appear a bit preachy and overly idealistic now, but as much as I like (or even now prefer) some other later science fiction shows like Farscape or Battlestar Galactica, I think I would rather expose a kid to TNG then contemporary shows...

Oh, books, the GLORIOUS books.

I still have most of them. The only one that I lost that I really miss is the Generations and First Contact art book. I looked at it so much the spine started coming apart.

The TNG Technical manual, the DS9 technical manual (for all its flaws) both editions of the Star Trek Encyclopedia, Star Charts (thanks for using it Cryptic), the Haynes owner's Manuals (everyone should read the Bird of Prey and it should be integrated into the game, it's as glorious as a mural of Lady Lukara carved and painted inside of an erupting volcano), The ships of the line book and many calendars, and dozens of issues of Star Trek The Magazine with all its in universe/out of universe fold out awesomeness.

vengefuldjinn wrote: »

captaind3 wrote: »

That was a glorious moment in cinema, with the "The Enterprise" playing in the background. That is how you introduce a starship.

You know, I'd been waiting for a moment like that since !

The Enterprise is really the star of Star Trek, at least that's how I feel. Every new lovely incarnation deserves a loving cinematic tribute.

I thought for sure we'd get one introducing the Enterprise E. Sigh, at least we got that scene where she came to the Defiant's rescue.

We sorta, got a moment with the first JJ Trek, when they introduced the new alternate Enterprise, but somehow it didn't feel the same to me. The mood was off, wrong somehow.
Now that they've gone and destroyed that one too, maybe we'll get a wonderful drydock scene when they rebuild her and re-launch her fabulously refitted ? I want fanfare !

One can hope anyway....

Well, she's as big as a star any crew she carries.

Nowadays in film you don't get big grand moments like that anymore. Like the opening overture with music set to space. You didn't see that again until the 2009 Star Trek, appropriately enough.

The E-E was beautiful and would've benefited from that kind of intro. They only gave us a tease of it at the end of Nemesis. It would've been an appropriate farewell. She was originally supposed to have had a shot of her flying away...but Stuart Baird was incompetent.

The issue with Star Trek 2009's intro of the Enterprise was that it was given the feeling of youthful excitement. The feeling of meeting the most beautiful girl you've ever seen and you know you're going to marry her if you get the chance. The TMP version was a majestic introduction, in part because going back to the relationship metaphor it was Kirk running into his one true love again, and falling for her once more. It doesn't make your heart beat fast...it makes it swell.

If I ever had a chance to do a Star Trek there would definitely be that moment of "and this...is the ship."

"New ship but she's got the right name. Now you listen to me, you treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home."

tmassx

The Gamesters of Triskelion I do not understand why the creators of the Star Trek show are so obsessed with melee combat ( TOS are ridiculous bad, but some another like Picard with Nausicaans, Archer & Shran are bad too)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAWnDksru4g

tacofangs

I love that this has spurred everyone to share their initiations into the cult of Trek. Keep em coming!

goodscotch

Watched the original series with my dad, who is 91 years old now. Those were the days. When Next Generation hit, I couldn't wait to see what they would do with it. The first Star Trek movie, with the exception of the opening scene with the Klingons getting vaporized by V'ger, I thought was boring. But I appreciate it all much more now than I did when I was younger. The Wrath of Khan is still one of my favorite movies. Grew up with Trek. I even watched the cartoons on Saturday morning.

rattler2

Got my start with TNG, which ironically started the same year I was born. lol

captaind3 wrote: »

The issue with Star Trek 2009's intro of the Enterprise was that it was given the feeling of youthful excitement. The feeling of meeting the most beautiful girl you've ever seen and you know you're going to marry her if you get the chance. The TMP version was a majestic introduction, in part because going back to the relationship metaphor it was Kirk running into his one true love again, and falling for her once more.

Well... if you consider the context, it was the first time Kirk saw the Enterprise in all her glory. Last time he saw her, she was under construction at Riverside.

So the relationship metaphor was appropriate. Who's to say that Prime Kirk didn't have the same look on his face before he took command of the Enterprise?

dragonsbrethren

I was born not too long before TNG started airing, so I literally grew up watching that. I was too young to really have any vivid memories of it, but I do remember the Borg Cube and end scene of Best of Both Worlds from when it originally aired. I had a Data and Borg action figure--maybe Geordi, too? I never got into DS9 as a kid, Voyager was really my first series--I started from the first episode and was finally old enough to really comprehend the stories. Even though I consider it the weakest now, I still have a soft spot for that series.

TOS was an acquired taste. When I first tried watching. I was a dumb kid and couldn't get past the dated effects to really appreciate it. The first episode I really remember getting into was Metamorphosis. I saw Balance of Terror at some godawful hour of the night when I was really sick one time and loved it--I'm not sure exactly when my infatuation with the Romulans started, but this episode showed me that they were an interesting species from the very start. The Romulan Commander's speech ("In a different reality, I could have called you a friend") has always stuck with me. But I didn't really get into TOS until they started airing the remastered episodes on TV--not that the better effects had anything to do with it, I was just in my late teens/early 20s, more willing to look past superficial things, and I often watched them with my dad--it was something to bond over

getsgreased

My first memory of Star Trek TOS was coming home from Trick-or-Treating one night and seeing it on the TV. How my love for it evolved is deep into my past, but I did have the privilege of knowing Jimmy Doohan (Scotty) and learned first-hand what an incredible guy he was. From fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force to Hollywood and voice acting later, there was a guy who knew how to stay young.
Got a bit of a tingle at the 'show-me-nothing' teaser for the new CBS Star Trek series coming out next year. Between all the different series, the viewing of them all so many times, then this addictive game Star Trek Online, Star Trek is a pretty big piece in my life.
Keep it coming.

crypticarmsman

The year: 1969
My age: 6 years old.
The channel: 4 (KNBC in L.A. - still showing Season 3 first run)
The Star Trek (original series) Episode: "Elaan of Troyius"

The result: Star Trek fan ever since (and huge science fiction fan in general).

thlaylierah

I still remember my Father's reaction when he saw Spock die on our old TV that got half a dozen channels. He was a very quiet man and I'd never in a million years think he would like anything Science Fiction.

He asked me, "Spock died?" and I had to explain to him about Nimoy's passion to distance himself from the character that defined him. Then I told him he comes back in the next movie after Nimoy discovered the error of his ways.

My Father actually sat there and watched the next movie that was thankfully running right after TWOK, the longest I'd ever seen him watch TV.

Glad he didn't live to see Harrison Ford's similar bullsh1t.