Live long and prosper

            "Space:  The final frontier."

            Those words introduced magic to the Hebert household when the original "Star Trek" series played on television. Everyone in my family loved watching the adventures of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

            First and foremost was the ship's captain, James Tiberius Kirk. Played with bravado by William Shatner, we loved the way he breathed between every word and lost more of his hair every season.

            My secret favorite was the half-Vulcan, half-human science officer Mr. Spock, played by the intellectual Leonard Nimoy.

            Spock chose to favor his unemotional Vulcan side, and like most teenage girls, I was drawn to the strong silent type. I loved his intelligence, pointy ears and, his best trick, the Vulcan Mind Meld.

            My brothers loved Mr. Scott, the U.S.S. Enterprise's ace engineer. Scotty could fix anything on the ship and seldom ventured out of the engine room. We always held our breath until we'd hear his favorite line when asked to jump to Warp Speed 10:  "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain."

            There were certain rules Trekkies knew. Anyone classified as a crewman who had the unfortunate assignment of beaming down to a strange, new planet was going to meet his doom. Spock had to say something was "illogical" at least once during the show and phasers always had to be set to stun.

            Accompanying Kirk and Spock were the reliable crew members of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Favorites were the fresh-faced Mr. Checkov, the always calm Mr. Sulu and the beautiful Lt. Uhuru. The grouchy Dr. McCoy was either in the sick bay or verbally sparring with Spock.

            Fans of the original series have their favorite episodes. Tops on most fans' list is "The Trouble with Tribbles." My favorite, though, starred Ricardo Montalban as Kahn, a super intelligent being. Montalban somehow manages to give a performance more over the top than William Shatner's, but he's a joy to watch on the screen.

 

The Next Generation

            When "Star Trek" came back to the television screen as "Star Trek: The Next Generation," I was busy rearing children whose favorite show was "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," not "Star Trek." Besides, the show just didn't seem the same without Spock and Kirk.

            Luckily, the first wave of "Star Trek" movies came out in the late 1970s. By today's CGI standards, they look a little cheesy, but those three films brought back what we loved about the original series.

            The success of the movies meant television audiences were ready for science fiction, but writers wanted to update the U.S.S. Enterprise crew. In 1987, a new cast and crew took over the U.S.S. Enterprise in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Although the actors, story lines and sets were top notch, nothing could take the place of the original Star Trek cast and crew.

            Fans were thrown breadcrumbs when "Galaxy Quest" came out in 1999. A movie that used the essence of "Star Trek" and created a comedy, "GQ" became an instant Hebert family favorite. The writers spoofed each character, made them loveable and reminded us all why we adored the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

            Our thirst for the voyages to continue was satisfied with the release of "Star Trek" in 2009. This movie and this summer's latest installment, "Star Trek Into Darkness," not only honor the intent of Gene Roddenberry's original series and the original films, but they've elevated the craft into science fiction nirvana.

            The swashbuckling adventures of the voyages of the Star Ship Enterprise shall, in the words of Mr. Spock, live long and prosper.

            Fascinating.

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.