Space. The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Star Trek is possibly one of the greatest series in the universe, in terms of movies and TV shows. There are so many of them that I can barely keep track of them all, with the many TV series, movies based on the shows, and the new movies, the latest of which just came out in the last few weeks. (I've seen it twice already!) Here are some of my favorite moments from the Star Trek incarnations that I've seen.
1. "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
In the new series of movies, the first time Jim Kirk met Leonard McCoy aka Bones was on a shuttle bound for Starfleet Academy, and even though outer space is pretty much the first thing in the job description, Bones seemed pretty sore about having to fly up there, just in case of solar flares or Andorian Shingles which apparently includes bleeding eyeballs. Good thing Mr. McCoy is a doctor! This is also when we find out how McCoy got his nickname; when his wife left him, she took the whole planet! Everything but his bones.
2. "Darmok"
In the fifth season of Star Trek The Next Generation, the episode titled "Darmok" focused mainly on language, and trying to understand the language of another culture. Basically, this other culture and the Federation had made limited contact before, but could not get past the language barrier, despite many attempts to understand each other. It got to the point where a captain from that culture brought Captain Picard down to a neutral planet where they would fight a dangerous monster together.
The incredibly intelligent Jean Luc Picard was eventually able to decipher the form of their language, and realized that they spoke in metaphor. Basically, by referencing stories and myths from that culture's mythological history, the people could get their point across. It is as if I were to tell you "Juliet on her balcony." The image you would think of is love and romance. Now, if someone is not familiar with this story, they would not know who Juliet is or what she was doing on a balcony. Using an example from the episode, if I were to tell you "the river in winter," I would expect you to stop talking, or freeze. By the end of the episode, the two cultures were well on their way to an alliance.
3. "Not a merry man"
In The Next Generation, Q, the seemingly all-powerful being zaps most of the bridge crew of the Enterprise into Sherwood Forest to play the parts of Robin Hood (Picard) and his merry men (the rest of his crew). One person in particular had issues with this, and that was the Klingon Worf. He insisted that he is "not a merry man."
4. The sass of Sulu
In case it was not already a known fact, Hikaru Sulu is a complete badass, and can absolutely fly anything. When Kirk asks him if he is sure he can fly their new getaway ship, Sulu politely responds, "You kidding me, Sir?" That's all anybody needed for reassurance.
5. Spock and McCoy's friendship
Throughout the new movies, Spock and Dr. McCoy seem to have a mutual respect for each other, despite Spock's proud logic and McCoy calling him choice names like "pointy-eared bastard" and "green-blooded hobgoblin." Of course, these are all much fun, but you really get a chance to see the inner-workings of their friendship in Star Trek Beyond. At one point, Spock is injured and of course, McCoy helps him out, and teaches him some new American phrases at the same time. Of course, when Spock decides that the logical course of action is to leave him behind because he is injured and too slow, Bones responds with "Well that's damn chivalrous of you, but completely out of the question." I won't spoil much more than that, so you better go watch the movie!
There are so so so many more moments I would love to be able to include in this article, and I invite you to watch as much Star Trek as you can to discover your own. Along with the funny quips and ironic moments, Star Trek has this uncanny ability to teach you something about humanity in ways unique to the worlds created in outer space.
