Both of them

One of my favorite speculative fiction franchises has been the Star Trek series.
It brought color TV into our home!

He's got a flat screen now!
He's in a hurry cause Breaking Bad is on.

My Pops was a hard assed hold out on the "new" technology because he figured there just wasn't that much color on the TV anyway and he could just imagine what the colors were so why 86 a perfectly good B+W set for a color one?

Back in the day it was "Sony? Who?"

In 1966 or 67 our Black and White Zenith television went to a better place. The family, at least as far as I was concerned, was going to a better place too.


We were going to my Grandparent's farm!

Gramps long after the farm was gone.

Man I loved the farm, it didn't matter the time of year in fact I 'm not sure what time of year it was on this particular journey but it I do know it was dusk when we pulled off of highway 7 and up to a sleepy gas station in Buttfuck Saskatchewan. As Dad unlocked the gas cap he blocked the view from my window all I could see was the back of his jacket and heard him mumbling something like "I think it's a sign....hmmm" and then as he had his head turned toward the glittering colored light emanating from the gas station a vague muffled "whats keeping that kid?" as though he knew who it was personally. I was turning my window down further as he was walking toward the station bits and bites of his monologue meant for no one wafted to me on the dry prairie wind in a random fashion, "kid...respect...customer...hick...geez..strange".
I could see into the station and there was Dad's face glowing tilted up towards the light! As I opened the car door over my shoulder I told Mom I had to pee and made a beeline for the gas station.
Approaching the station my eyes were fixed on the back wall flickering with a blue and sometimes reddish color. As I went through the door I first looked at Dad and then followed his gaze to the shelf over top of the big front window. Now I could clearly see what had been giving off the colored glow!
Up on that shelf was a television.
But
Not just any TV

She was a fantasy for a middle aged
married guy!

it was a color TV!

And on that TV was not some sitcom full of drivel (ok I actually liked the sex show) no no it was something out of this world!

Something from a far away galaxy!

                                                         There were Orange skies, bright Blue tunics and hot Red mini dresses.

I barely heard the conversation between my Dad and the Son of the owner, "My Dad bought it a week ago so I would work nights at the station..."

Mesmerized,completely floored, off in an instant to this place where these modern looking people in a space age environment appeared to be in a space battle!

Star Trek was on and would be for another few minutes before a commercial break.

I was lost in this make believe world which looked like a set but the costumes and the ships bridge and the guy with the pointy ears and a swashbuckling captain this wonderful burst of color more vibrant than the colors in the station itself! (Ok that wasn't hard to do) The three of us were standing there looking at the screen, I glanced at my Dad.

He looked back somewhat awe struck "The guy with pointy ears talks like you do, like a professor, hmm." he looked back up at the screen for last seconds and in a side glance I saw Mom's head pop up out of the car.

Not only did this TV series get us our color set but Star Trek became a ritual for our family. It was the only show which would influence our schedule not that Dad would condone such grovelling to entertainment but I'm pretty sure he caught 98 percent of the series while it was on the air.

Star Trek never really scared me but The Next Generation had a number of thought provoking episodes that sent chills down my spine.

The one that sticks with me is 

Encounter at Farpoint.

One of the things I fear portrayed on the TV!

Having to be judged by a omnipotent being! 
Really it was the history of our 21st century (that's the next one) written as an post apocalyptic nightmare.


In one particular scene Picard and Q are in the court room and Q is saying that humans are extremely violent and crude and should be eliminated from the universe. 
Now why would I bother with this?
Because as in most things that I write one thing leads to another.
The description of life on earth in the 21st century relates to a blog which I have been laboring over for months now and I like to keep posting.
So this was an easy one to whip off while bringing back a fond memory of a really good time and tv series, 
both of them.