The new Star Trek’s here! The new Star Trek’s here!

I love pre-orders! On the day that the latest Star Trek movie went on sale, it arrived in the mail from the DVD club. Yippee! I think I held it in my hands and did a little chair dance as I waved it around. I've only seen it twice, so I think I'm due for another viewing. In fact, I'm overdue! Probably this weekend.

I still think they did a wonderful job with this one. J. J. Abrams did a fantastic job in walking the fine line between appeasing long-term fans (like yours truly) and taking the franchise in a bold new direction. I also loved the way they threw me off-kilter, as in "Well, I know that character can't die, because they survived to old age in the original." Ahhhh, but when one is dealing with time travel and the space-time continuum, all bets are off, a lesson I should have learned by now.

I've speculated before about the continuing appeal of the Star Trek phenomenon. (I know not everyone feels that way, of course.) I see it as a continued yearning for a future in which many nations (and planets) are united as a force for the common good. A peaceful force, one concerned with contacting and learning from other cultures, not beating them into submission in order to convert them to our way of life OR to any particular religion. The Prime Directive must always apply. (We seem to have gotten away from that a bit here. W obviously isn't a Trek fan.) The world of Star Trek is one in which various and diverse groups of people collaborate for the greater good. It's idyllic, obviously, but...isn't that the whole point? Isn't our goal a peaceful existence with all people working together to achieve a better world? Shouldn't it be?

For me, Star Trek shows us the possibilities of what can be if we all get off this muy macho shit and start working together.

It's also kinda cool to encounter freaky aliens like the Horta, and to try to connect. That's where a Vulcan Mind Meld comes in handy.

I love this clip from SNL. Note the "I'm looking at you" gesture using the Vulcan hand gesture. Still makes me laugh.