Mother’s Day Musing: The Monster She Created May 14, 2006
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Holiday Hijinx, Star TREKKIN'!.2 comments
My mother is a Trekkie.
It’s a love that certainly predates my existence. I can remember when, waaay back when I couldn’t have been more than 4 years old, her crying at the death of Spock in the second Star Trek movie. When I was 9, I took mom out to see Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home for her birthday (which, it turns out, is the day after mine), which I seem to remember pleasing her immensely. And in between those events, I remember countless paeans about the original series and Spock and Kirk, and Spock, and Spock…
(Hmmm, new thought: is mom a Spockie?)
Then came Star Trek: the Next Generation to television in 1987. I can’t BEGIN to count the number of instances where I’ve rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm for the upcoming series. While I certainly found it good for her, I couldn’t understand what was so exciting (keep in mind, I was 9): the movies were OK, but I didn’t know how the series related to it. No one was there that I knew, and it seems things had taken on a different tone. After hearing about the premiere, I decided to leave mom alone for one hour a week so she could have her show.
Things went on in this way for about five years. Sure, I would catch the occasionally interesting episode of the show, but mostly had a touch-and-go relationship with it. Mom would try to tell me more about the characters in it, but I really wasn’t interested. It was nice to be able to come and go as I pleased from a TV show without being an obsessed fan (though, I will point out that I hardly EVER missed an episode of TMNT).
Then came the episode, Chain of Command.
It was in spring of 1993, and my mother, who had seen the episode when it first aired in late 1992, told me to sit down with her and watch this episode. I hadn’t really watched the show in a while, so I agreed. What my mother had failed to mention was the intriguing little detail that this episode ended on a CLIFFHANGER, with Captain Picard being taken prisoner by the Cardassians. So naturally, I was already dying to see the next episode.
When we saw it a week later, I was hooked.
In seeing Picard get tortured, his crew desperate to retrieve him, and an enemy in the Cardassians that was both dark and especially complex, I found myself asking all kinds of questions about these people. Who were the Cardassians? What kind of commander was Picard, to inspire such loyalty in Riker that he risked a insubordination to fight for his release? And, who created Data? What was his story? Did he have emotions? Why not? What was that thing Geordi LaForge wore?
From that moment on, much to what I imagine was my mother’s delight, I became a devoted TNG fan, tuning in not only each week for the new episodes, but watching the now-syndicated previous episodes EVERY DAY. My quest for information about the characters, situations and universe bordered the obsessive, and when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine reached my radar, I started watching this new Star Trek, following it after TNG went off the air and as I went off to college. Mom started to watch that series for a while, but eventually switched to "me" mode, catching the occasional episode, while I followed it almost religiously.
It’s kind of a sad reversal, in my opinion, because I think mom missed out on the best-written, most well acted of the Star Trek series made (I’ve since seen enough of the episodes from all Star Treks to make what I feel is a very informed judgment). Even so, I also sometimes wonder if she thinks she created a monster in getting me started on Star Trek, as I can recall my own enthusiasm for DS9 prompting several "Leave-me-alone!" type responses at various times.
Of course, it could be argued that she created a monster long before that. 
My mom is one of the smartest people I know, and I like to think I’ve inherited her mental sharpness as well as her sarcastic wit. She’s influenced me in many ways, from how I argue to my sense of ethics and morality, but I have to say, the Star Trek connection, in addition to being the most fun, is also one of the more rewarding aspects of our relationship. It’s just too bad about Enterprise, eh?
Happy Mother’s Day, mom.
Valentine’s Day Post-Mortem February 15, 2006
Posted by tonywgoodwyn in Browncoatings, Holiday Hijinx.2 comments
For those of you who don’t know, I have had much reason to dislike Valentine’s Day in recent years. Ever since being dumped on V-day a few years ago, I’ve had this arguably fortunate tendency to be single when it’s come around. While this exempts me from the necessity of participating in the wearisome, harrisome Hallmark holiday hijinx that inevitably come with this day, it still has left a bitter aftertaste with me for the time being.
While I’m not saying that’s changed, I do think I’ve done something that could mark a possible turnaround for this time of the year.
Late last year (the day after Thanksgiving, to be precise), a friend of mine introduced me to the short-lived Joss Whedon television show Firefly, and its cinema sequel Serenity. I was almost instantly captivated by this wonderful sci-fi Western and its complex characters, and now consider myself a bonafide an unapologetic Browncoat. I borrowed the DVD set of the series (which is not even a full season long) from my friend, and returned them a month later, quite reluctantly; then made sure I acquired Serenity right after the Christmas holiday.
Well, today I found myself in possession of a little more cash than I had anticipated, and promptly went to acquire my own DVD set of Firefly (not through Amazon, though–didn’t want to wait for the shipping).
I’ve known for the last couple months that this would be money well spent.
For those of you who haven’t yet sampled this show, I can only suggest that you give a viewing to one or two episodes. It’s a wonderful character study, as well as a nice blending of the science fiction and Western genres, and like any show worth its salt, Firefly is much more than its genre might suggest. The the writing is smart and witty, the plot arcs are compelling, and the characters are complex, well-acted and easy to relate to. You’ll walk away wondering how Fox could have canceled it so quickly.
Anyway, instead of marking V-Day as a day I’ve had to deal with the School of Hard Knocks in the classes of love these last few years, I can now look on it as the day I acquired a key item for a pursuit I’ve quickly come to love. The short time I’ve spent in the ‘Verse created by Joss Whedon has already inspired some of my writing and helped me make more friends, and I’m looking forward to enjoying more adventures from these Big Damn Heroes, however this story is continued.
So… bring on Valentine’s Day. Henceforth, it shall be associated with Firefly!
