anciens amours

It is no secret that I am especially obsessed with Doctor Who. There are many many reasons for this, but a few in particular stick out in my mind...

- The Doctor (at least in the old series) is portrayed as an asexual character. This is especially rare, and something I can genuinely identify with. It's nice to have a good role model in this sense, instead of characters who "aren't getting any" being scorned by others. Some people are perfectly content never having relationships beyond friendship! I for one would love travelling around with a good friend, without any sort of pressure to keep something going on.

- Travel. Sure, he does it through space and time, but this is the life I envy. Constantly moving, never staying in one place too long, but seeing everything! I know I'd never be satisfied with the same old dull routine, and the ability to wander wherever I like whenever I'd like is something I would give anything for.

- The philosophy! He's generally pacifistic, uses violence as a last resort. And I get the feeling that while there is something out there in the great beyond that we couldn't possibly begin to comprehend, it isn't necessary to do anything special about it. Just keep exploring and learning; curiosity is your greatest asset. Even if there is a life after death, why should that stop us from making the most of this one we have now? As long as we're not actively performing evil deeds, I think it's enough. And of course, if you can help people out, you always should!



Okay, so that was a complicated explanation to bring me to the real point of this little rant.
I wasn't always so obsessed with this show.
Now, I have been aware of it for as long as I can remember, even enjoyed episodes I had seen in my youth as with many other shows, unawares of how much I would later adore them. Finally starting to watch the revived series is what brought me to the above realizations. However, until that point, there was a different scifi universe that embodied my beliefs, and was as close as I had come to finding something I could really imagine myself as part of.

That was, of course, Star Trek.

From when I first discovered The Next Generation at a very young age (I was only a year old when it premiered, after all) I was truly hooked. I decided I too would go into space someday, and until I went to Japan in high school I had a singular goal of becoming an astronaut. I planned my activities around when Voyager was on, and even in Japan I spent a lot of time watching DS9 reruns. When I still had cable I would often watch marathons of the original on the scifi channel. I rewatched the entirety of TNG my freshman year of college between watching it on Spike in my dorm in Colorado and checking out DVD box sets from the Orange County library in Orlando. I had my first roleplaying experiences in chatroom Star Trek simulations - I was but 10 when I started but still worked up through the ranks quite quickly thanks to my vast knowledge of the subject matter; these groups were large and had complicated ranking and promotion systems. I loved the authenticity. It wasn't long before I was "Captain" of my own ship and crew for a weekly sim, those were some of the best days I've had, delving deeply into the backstories of many a character I had created. I almost miss 1998 for all of that; I haven't seen groups like the ones I was in for a long time.

That was the vast majority of my life! The only "obsessions" I've had that remotely compare were with baseball and the Beatles, neither of which has completely left me.

And I think it's safe to say: neither has Star Trek.

Two days before the reimagined movie comes out in America, I have already seen it. Sure, I had to watch it in French, in a theatre with only a dozen people among which I was the only female. I had nobody to gush about it with afterward.

But I was still blown away.

I'll probably see it again when I get to England next week, just to hear the dialogue as it should be. Okay, who am I kidding, it was just that good I'd see it regardless.

Sorry Doctor, but an old flame has stolen my heart once more. At least for today.