Fandoms of My Life: Day 1
My earliest serious fandom was Star Trek: OST. I was eleven and first caught the series in syndication four years after the original run ended in 1969.
I was and still am a big science geek. I watched the first moon landing live on a 13" black and white TV. I wanted to be a ballerina, but I also wanted to be an astronaut, the latter something totally out of the realm of possibility for woman back then.
It wasn't until I got older that I realized how ground-breaking this series was. The cast was multi-cultural. The first interracial kiss on U.S. television was between Kirk and Uhura in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren". The show also shone a harsh light on bigotry in many episodes including "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield". On the lighter side, one could argue that the tribbles in "The Trouble With Tribbles" were the first bisexuals and the first Furries on television.
I was thrilled when the Reboot did so well. It's hooked a new generation. Sometimes I get rolled eyes when I say I'm a fan, but more often I get "Which series/captain/character is your favorite?" (The original series/Captain Picard/Mr. Spock) or "Wasn't Karl Urban amazing as Bones in the Reboot?" (Yes, he was. DeForest Kelly would have been so proud.)
I'd like to think that almost everything I learned about being open-minded, I learned from Star Trek.
Thank you, Gene.