When the Star Trek Enterprise series was cancelled in 2005 in it's fourth season (just when the storylines and quality were "taking off"... no pun intended), it left the franchise in limbo with seemingly no hope. Being a devout Trekkie or "Trekker" (as we prefer to be called) this was a depressing thought. Sort of like when I heard that Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov had died. I had the feeling that a part of your soul had also gone the same way.
So, I couldn't be happier that the franchise had been revived by the start of a new "timeline" with the showing of the 2009 Star Trek movie (Yes, I refuse to use the term "reboot" but that's for another day).
Sometime during this hiatus, I decided to rewatch the entire Star Trek run from TOS, all the movies, TNG, all it's movies, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise... took around 8 months. During the course, my son and daughter started to watch with me. Soon they became Trekkers as well.
What makes me happy, and it's not just the fact that I have other people to talk Trek, but I absolutely love the moral values that they learn from Star Trek.
What makes Star Trek unique among the different versions of Earth's future, as imagined by the myriad of sci-fi writers is that it shows the best possible future. Gone is poverty, sloth, greed... most crime has been eradicated, there's no more money, I guess you can call it "true communism"... but in Star Trek, mankind is not motivated by money or power, but by the desire to better one's self in the best way possible.
Many ethical and moral issues arise in Star Trek, sometimes they mimic the news headlines at the time of shooting. Sometimes the outcomes aren't the best, but given the circumstances, the characters make the most ethically correct decisions that are humanly possible.
The way the various captains, although having different styles, interact with their subordinates, how they command and earn respect and how they themselves respect those of lower ranks. How they can be seen as friends and yet one is their commanding officer. So many people skills can be gained from watching Star Trek.
I mean, kids can do a lot worse than watching and be influenced by Star Trek!
My daughter was watching a rather complicated storyline in ST:VGR with a multitude of time paradoxes confusing the issue, and she spotted right on a plot hole which for me, only a hardened Trekker can do!
It makes me happier especially since I live in a country where Trekkers are really a rare breed. The few Trekker friends I have are at most only casual ones... watching only a comparative "handful" of shows compared with us.
Well... having my kids be my Trek buddies isn't a bad proposition at all!
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