Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Lisa's Corner: Looking at Star Trek and its warp speed

By Lisa Goudy


“Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.”
— Star Trek opening narration

Star Trek is a franchise with six unique television shows and, as of today, 12 feature films. Star Trek Into Darkness is J.J. Abrams’ much-anticipated sequel to his franchise prequel/reboot Star Trek in 2009 featuring an all-new young cast from the original series. The film stars Chris Pine as Capt. James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as alien officer Spock.

I’ll admit with pride that I am pretty much a die hard Trekkie. I know I’m not nearly as fanatic as other Star Trek fans out there, but I truly do love many of the series and movies. I will definitely be seeing the latest film in theatres this weekend.

Over the years, the series has given us pure entertainment for science fiction lovers. Digging a little deeper into messages in the series, it’s easy to find good examples of the value of friendship, loyalty, diversity and equality. Star Trek really has its own culture.

The Star Trek universe was created 47 years ago when the first episode of Star Trek aired on television on Sept. 8, 1966, starring William Shatner as Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. It featured a multicultural cast, a daring move in the 1960s.

Read more