To Boldly Go Where I Have Never Gone Before...

Captain's Log: 8.8.06.

Greetings, and welcome to The Trektastic Voyage.

Why a new blog, you may ask? And what is "The Trektastic Voyage?"

Good questions, both.

Forty years ago today, at seven-thirty PM central time, a unique science fiction program aired on NBC.

You might have heard of it.

It was called "Star Trek."

Here we are now, forty years later. Trek keeps on, well, trekkin.' Despite the cancellation of the last spin-off from the original in 2004, Star Trek continues to endure, gaining new fans and regaining old ones. In the summer of 2008, a new Star Trek film will launch, reportedly telling the story of the first adventure of a young Kirk and Spock. The rumor right now is that Matt Damon will attempt to fill William Shatner's shoes as James Tiberius Kirk. (Good luck with that, Matt. Not possible at all, in my opinion.)

So what does that have to do with this blog?

I'm a life-long Trekker, as my friends and family know. It's in my blood. I love it, especially the original, with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc. It doesn't get any more classic or fun than that series.

I've been waiting for the 40th anniversary all year. Wednesday, I purchased the last two DVD season sets, completing my collection of the original Star Trek, which also includes the six feature films starring the original cast.

Tonight, at seven-thirty, I'll watch "The Man Trap," which was the episode that served as a "sneak preview" and the world's introduction to Star Trek. I'll be watching it at the very hour it aired (in Central Time, at least) forty years ago tonight.

That episode will be followed by a marathon of episodes I consider among my favorites.


And every Friday night from here on out, I'll watch one or two episodes of Star Trek. I've plotted how many I need to watch on each Friday night along the way so as to keep the last six weeks free to watch the six Trek films.

On Saturday, September 8th, 2007, I will watch the final Trek film to star the original cast, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which closed the door on these characters in live-action.

It's my own "Year of Star Trek."

It's "The Trektastic Voyage."

I'm sure other Trek fans have done something like this. But I haven't. So tonight, a one-year odyssey begins. I'll chronicle that journey aboard the fabled starship Enterprise here in TTV.

I'd like it if you all came along for the trip.

You know the magic words.

"Beam me up!"

Chris