Welcome back to the Creative Life Adventure.
September 8, among Star Trek fans, has become known as Star Trek Day. While I tend to think every day is a reasonable time for Star Trek Day, September 8 is official because The Original Series premiered on September 8, 1966. I was born later but, like so many fans of my approximate age, I grew up watching the series in syndication. The merchandising options were pretty slim in those days, so I had to wait for the first series of motion pictures before acquiring Trek BlingTM. (I haven’t really trademarked “Trek Bling.” Have you?) Today, being something of a minimalist, I still don’t have a lot of merchandise, but I savor the soundtracks in my CD collection with the work of iconic composers like Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, and Leonard Rosenman.
In the 1990s, while The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager were on the air, I attended a few Trek conventions in San Francisco. The cast members who spoke and signed autographs at those events were gracious and a real pleasure to meet. I still display the autographed photos in my home office. COVID-19 has impacted conventions, and everything else, this year. That’s bad in some ways, but one benefit is that a lot of convention panels this year are available free to watch on Youtube. The events not only offer insight into the various series, but are also a wonderful reminder of how thoughtful and interesting the Star Trek actors and writers are. Watching these fascinating conversations has been a source of hope to me during these pandemic days and has helped inspire me to maintain my own creative efforts.
This year’s Star Trek Day is different for me for another reason: I continue to publish my essays on The Original Series. This pop culture analysis is a new style of writing for me. This is a highly personal project but one I believe other Trek fans will also find interesting, and I’m enjoying this new creative direction immensely. My most recent post, on the troublesome episode “Mudd’s Women,” is available here or via the link at the top of the page.
If you celebrate Star Trek Day, have a great one. And if you don’t, keep pursuing your own creative wellsprings and try to remain hopeful in these years that John Mellencamp calls “lawless times.” Whatever you’re doing in September of 2020, live long and prosper!
The Creative Life Adventure 