I took to Star Trek: The Next Generation later in life. Like, much later in life. Like, during the first leg of quarantine later in life. Yeah, I know, I'm pretty late to the party.
It's not like I was averse to the Star Trek franchise- quite the opposite. My father raised me on the classic 60s series- with a healthy diet of I Dream of Jeanine and Columbo on the side- and I couldn't imagine another crew outside of the original occupants of the Enterprise. Whenever I saw reruns of Next Generation on BBC America, I reflexively skipped it. As it turns out, my dad didn't just pass on his love of 60s Star Trek but his bias as a fan as well.
Now that I've finally arrived in the 24th Century, I'm miffed that I didn't show up sooner. I'll always love Kirk and Spock, but Next Generation is the best Star Trek anything- period. When it came time for me to finish the series, I lingered on the last few episodes. I wasn't ready for it to end.
Well, that must've been how fans of the show felt on this day in 1994, as Star Trek: The Next Generation went into warp one last time. I may not have gotten the chance to mourn the show during its original run, but I'll take today to do so. I'll end by saying this: "Death is that state in which one only exists in the memory of others, which is why it is not an end. No goodbyes, just good memories. Hailing frequencies closed."
