Losing Geek Cred

If you've never seen Star Trek, specifically The Next Generation, this post might be a bit lost on you.  If you have, prepare to lose some respect for me.  Come to think of it, you'll probably lose a bit of respect for me either way.  That's okay.  This is my blog, not yours.

I grew up watching ST: TNG.  Literally.  The show premiered when I was a year old and my parents were big fans.  Every week my aunt and uncle came over and the family watched it together.  This probably stopped when my brother and cousins came along, but for a few years I was the only one and life was good and filled with Star Trek.  I saw practically every episode as they originally aired.  I have a better memory of Deep Space Nine.  Man I loved Jadzia Dax.  And Odo.  And Major Kira.  I should go back and re-watch this series.  Where was I?

Oh, right: Next Gen

It's woven into the fabric of my childhood.  (Maybe this is why I don't like wearing red.)  I've always known Whoopi Goldberg first and foremost as Guinan.  I believed that Jean Luc Picard was his real name longer than I believed in Santa Claus.  Much of my early understanding of artificial intelligence was shaped by Data.  I loved going to Safeway where the doors opened automatically, just like on the enterprise.  I wanted my own holodeck very badly.  I still kind of do.  And I had a bit of a crush on Wesley Crusher.

Any good Trekkie knows that you're supposed to hate Wesley Crusher.  He is annoyingly perfect: a male Mary Sue.  But I couldn't help it.  He was the golden boy and I was young.

I've always particularly liked an episode called The Game, in which young Wesley saves the entire crew from a game that's so addictive no one can stop playing it.  Riker picks up the game during one of his exploits with a sexy lady alien and it quickly spreads through the crew.  It's not as dirty as that sounds though.  Probably.  Anyway, Wesley is the only one who realizes that something is wrong and manages to destroy the game and free the crew from its drug-like hold on them.  This is apparently a pretty awful episode - even my summary sounds awful.  But I was maybe fourteen the last time I actually saw it, and I got attached to the concept.  The episode still pops up in my head with each new game addiction I encounter: Solitaire, Freecell, Desktop Tower Defense, Peggle, Bejeweled, Angry Birds.

The Game also has one of my favorite scenes ever to appear in any Star Trek incarnation, starring another character who I've since learned is pretty problematic in the fandom.  I don't care, though.  Deanna Troi taught me how to eat chocolate.