All You Need is More Star Trek

I think I can now claim to be the consummate Star Trek fan. I don’t necessarily fit the typical bill of the obsessed fan, never having attended a convention, dressing the occasion on Halloween or quoting lines off the top of my head. Yet I can proudly announce I have seen all 725 episodes of Star Trek that are now in existence. Again, that is 725 episodes, split among 30 seasons that are spread across five live-action and one animated series. I’ve enjoyed the greats of the Next Generation, the classic yet often laughable theatrics of the Original Series, and suffered through the sometimes insufferable drama of Deep Space Nine and Voyager.

I can also claim to have lived a normal life throughout it all. Most of my Star Trek watching has been spread out among the years since I first took a liking to the concept 20 years ago. This isn’t to say plowing through the last few episodes didn’t take dedication. It was necessary to read through hundreds of episode descriptions and watch portions of dozens of episodes I was uncertain of before compiling a list of the last holdouts. When all was said and done, I found that there were less than 100 episodes remaining for me to see, with the potential that several dozen were ones I had indeed seen at an earlier time.

Now that the gargantuan and historic task is behind me, the question that nags me is “Is that all there is? What do I do now?” Some suggest a dedicated viewing of the numerous fan-made creations that exist; unfortunately, I am not sure how much I could stomach Star Trek creations that are of a lower quality than that of the original 1960’s episodes (Not to say I dislike the original series, there are quite a few I still enjoy watching. That being said, there are quite a few episodes worthy of Mystery Science Theater 3000). Perhaps some literature? New Star Trek books are published all the time; in fact, I recently heard of an upcoming Star Trek/Dr. Who crossover comic book that may hold some promise. Watch all the episodes of the Original Series in remastered, high-definition glory? Maybe; if I combined this with watching the upcoming Blu-ray releases of the Next Generation, I could certainly bolster my Star Trek fan credentials further. Of course, the best thing would be to witness the creation of a new Star Trek series; “all you need is more Star Trek” as the popular song goes. One can hope at any rate. And continue collecting memorabilia. In the meantime, continue boldly going where no man has gone before.

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About the author:

Name: Mike

Country: United States

Interests: numismatics, reading, history, Star Trek, computer games

Blogs: coming soon!