Goodbye Star Trek

In May, when Enterprise ends its run, there will be no Star Trek series on television since 1987. For my entire adult life, there's been Star Trek. I watched the reruns of the original series and enjoyed it. Even had some Star Trek action figures. Or maybe they were my brothers and passed down to me. The Klingon was mine; I am sure of that. When the Next Generation debuted, I wasn't a huge fan, but then got hooked in the second season. The third season of TNG was one of the best seasons of any TV show ever. All in all, in my opinion TNG was probably the best sci-fi television show of all time. Some episodes were the simply the best hours of TV, no matter what genre.

Here is a list of my favorites:

Measure of a Man from season two. Data must prove that is more than just a machine. This is the pivotal episode that sets Data on his journey toward a soul.

Sins of the Father from season three. We are introduced to the culture of the Klingons, where honor is the air they breathe. In this episode, Worf shows himself to be a true Klingon by accepting dishonor for the sake of his people.

From season four, we have Half a Life, which asked questions about devaluing the lives of the elderly as the Enterprise encounters a planet that has the custom of suicide at age 60.

Two from season five: Inner Light, where Picard lives an entire lifetime in a few hours and realizes what he gave up to be a Starship Captain, and The First Duty, where Wesley Crusher learns that no matter what, our first duty is to the truth - be it scientific truth, historical truth, or personal truth.

Chain of Command, Parts 1 and 2 from season six, where Picard is captured and totured by Cardassians. Patrick Stewart's performance was more than Emmy worthy.

And finally, All Good Things from the final season, one of the best series enders of all time as it tied every loose end and that final shot at the poker table was simply perfect.

This show consistently asked difficult questions and made me think about the world we live in. While I never got into Deep Space Nine to the same extent, and watched maybe four episodes total of Voyager, I was glad the spirit of the show lived on. In that sense, I am sorry Enterprise is going off the air. I hope that within ten years, we see another rebirth of this classic show.