My First TV Memory, A Geek's Tale

Alright, I'm skipping the book post this week as (this should shock no one) I haven't finished another book in the last week. Instead, I'm going to make up for the lack of a real post yesterday and do a TV post.

One of my very first, distinct first memory of TV was when I must have been four years old. I snuck out from my bedroom, hid behind the couch while my parents were watching TV and saw this:

Yes, the giant black goo monster, Armus. I saw him as he sucked Riker in whole. It freaked me out as a four year old! That dude is scary! I immediately scooted my butt straight to bed.

I know I must have seen some other TV before then, but I can't remember any of it nearly as well as I remember that moment. I find that kind of funny, because as much as it scared me Star Trek: The Next Generation is now one of my favorite shows of all time. I have been a Star Trek fan since late in TNG's run and have watched every series since. In middle and high school I would come home every day to watch the syndicated episode on at 4 every afternoon while doing my homework. TNG helped to shape my morals and values and really molded me as a person in many ways. It taught me to value friendship, loyalty, love, discovery, education, science, acceptance, leadership and many other ideals.

The show has always meant a lot to me so I was very excited when I first heard that they were coming to DVD years ago. My mom and I even bought the first few seasons, even though they cost around $120 each! A couple years ago they released the entire series box set, which my folks got me for Christmas! Thanks folks! I have only one problem with the set. It may have the worst packaging of any DVD box set I have ever seen. It can fall apart at a touch and it is hard to get the DVDs out of the box. This is a shame considering how fantastic the series is.

For the most part the show has aged well and is still really enjoyable. I have been watching episodes while working out on my treadmill, and it may be one of the easiest ways to work out. I take pleasure in reliving all the old moments from my childhood and adolescence and getting to experience the new ones (either from episodes I missed or parts they left out when the series went to syndication). I love this show!

As a bonus, everyone should check out Siskoid's blog. He is has been watching and reviewing every episode of all Star Trek series (including the animated series), at one per day. No breaks for him! he started in December of 2006 and is almost through Voyager. Only Enterprise left and then he is done! I've been following along after my workouts and it is fun to see where we agree and disagree. Check it out from the beginning, from the beginning of TNG, or just read it starting now.

Finally, yesterday I read a post on Star Trek on Kevin Church's blog that kinda got me riled up. You can check it out and check out my comments. It was my first time leaving comments on someone else's blog and I hope I was civil about everything. It was kind of a fun discussion and I thought his readers and he were very fun to spar with. They are definitely good people!