I discovered Star Trek during its first renaissance in syndication in the early 70s, and the first episode I remember seeing is “The Corbomite Maneuver.” From that moment, I was hooked.

corbomite

I was just a kid, but that sparked a lifelong love affair with Trek and with science fiction. I devoured every book I could find about Trek – Stephen Whitfield’s The Making of Star Trek, David Gerrold’s The World of Star Trek and his book about the writing of the Tribbles episode, and the adaptations of James Blish. And just a few years after that, NBC gave us the Saturday morning cartoon, which I loved in all its cheaply animated glory.

From there I began reading all the sci-fi classics I could get my hands on – Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and more. Years later I fell in love with Star Trek The Next Generation and the cast became my TV “family.” In later life, moving to L.A., I met and became good friends with the aforementioned Mr. Gerrold, and got to hear stories from the Holy of Holies itself. Happy 50th anniversary, Trek!