Our members have watched different generations of Star Trek and grew up with The Original Series in the 1960s and The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager in the 1980s and the 1990s.
Angeline Chen
Founder
Why did you form the Star Trek Club in the local community?
In September 2016, I wanted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, which has been my favorite series since middle school because of its optimism about the future. I thought that Star Trek is both entertainment and inspiration that encourage people to accept others’ differences and believe in a better future. I was also fascinated that Star Trek has socially and technologically influenced society for fifty years, and the themes in Star Trek can be applied to real life. However, when I talked to my classmates about Star Trek, none of them had ever watched Star Trek, so they did not understand my conversations. As a result, I decided to form the Star Trek Club in the local community in order to find people who shared my interest in Star Trek.
How is the Star Trek Club different from social media groups and conventions?
I formed the Star Trek Club in the local community because I wanted our club to feel like a starship crew. Unlike social media groups where members do not know each other, our members can meet face-to-face and share their unique stories about becoming Star Trek fans. Unlike conventions where fans pay hundreds of dollars to attend one-time events, our club is free, and we have meetings and online discussions every few months.
How did you become interested in Star Trek?
I watched Voyager with my parents when I was 10 months old, and I started watching The Next Generation by myself in middle school.
Which Star Trek TV series and movies have you watched?
I have watched all of the episodes in The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager.
Which Star Trek TV series and movies do you prefer?
My favorite series are The Next Generation and Voyager because the strong friendships among the characters, such as Jean-Luc Picard and Data and William Riker and Deanna Troi, in The Next Generation helped me become interested in Star Trek, and the strong female characters in Voyager, such as Kathryn Janeway and Seven of Nine, helped me overcome the gender stereotypes against females in STEM and inspired me to learn computer science.
Do you think that the original Star Trek episodes are old-fashioned?
I do not think that the original Star Trek episodes are old-fashioned because the technology in Star Trek is more advanced than modern technology. Most of the technology in Star Trek, such as communicators, replicators, and holodecks, has become similar to real life technology, such as flip phones, 3D printers, and virtual reality headsets. However, some of the technology in Star Trek, such as warp drive and transporters, has not been invented yet. I have also learned about life lessons and social issues from Star Trek. For example, Star Trek taught me to break up larger problems in smaller steps and analyze issues from different viewpoints, James T. Kirk taught me to become unafraid of the unknown, Spock taught me to use my calmness and my logic to overcome my problems, Jean-Luc Picard taught me to appreciate past memories, and Data taught me to use my personality and my emotions to make myself better.
How has Star Trek influenced your life?
I have been inspired by Star Trek to learn computer science because it showed me that it is possible for females to become the captain, such as Kathryn Janeway, and the chief engineer, such as Seven of Nine.
Why do you enjoy watching Star Trek?
I enjoy watching Star Trek because I need to ponder over the plot and the characters in order to understand the messages it wants to convey.
Steve Kelem
Ph.D., Computer Science
How did you become interested in Star Trek?
I've been a Star Trek fan since I was blown away by the first episode in 1966!
That was 9 years after Sputnik was launched, 3 years after the Mercury program, right in the middle of the Apollo program, and 3 years before the first man on the moon.
I was a teenager then, amazed by the space program, back when every launch was televised, and everyone in the world with a TV watched the launches and the landings.
The only sci-fi on TV was Lost in Space (LiS) a black & white campy show with cheap, laughable props and enemies, and plots.
After a year of LiS, Star Trek debuted. It was like night & day, compared to LiS. First of all, it was in color, which really highlighted the differences. Second, it had (mostly) more realistic characters, a more realistic ship, technology, and mission. Third, the real world was coming out of the cold war. The Enterprise's crew included men and women of many races (and an alien) working together without singing kumbaya, because "it's just normal". For all of that, we excuse Kirk's romances, tacky fights with dinosaur aliens, beehive hairdos and miniskirts, and Shatner's overacting.
That was 9 years after Sputnik was launched, 3 years after the Mercury program, right in the middle of the Apollo program, and 3 years before the first man on the moon.
I was a teenager then, amazed by the space program, back when every launch was televised, and everyone in the world with a TV watched the launches and the landings.
The only sci-fi on TV was Lost in Space (LiS) a black & white campy show with cheap, laughable props and enemies, and plots.
After a year of LiS, Star Trek debuted. It was like night & day, compared to LiS. First of all, it was in color, which really highlighted the differences. Second, it had (mostly) more realistic characters, a more realistic ship, technology, and mission. Third, the real world was coming out of the cold war. The Enterprise's crew included men and women of many races (and an alien) working together without singing kumbaya, because "it's just normal". For all of that, we excuse Kirk's romances, tacky fights with dinosaur aliens, beehive hairdos and miniskirts, and Shatner's overacting.
Which Star Trek TV series and movies do you prefer?
I prefer Start Trek Next Generation and Star Trek Enterprise. They both follow and improve upon the original series. The acting is a bit better, although TNG seems to be patronizing to kids.
Do you think that the original Star Trek episodes are old-fashioned?
A bit. They have re-mastered and added pretty good special effects to TOS (The Original Series), so these ones are more watchable.
Who are the most inspiring characters in Star Trek?
Spock (TOS) for being scientific and logical, Picard (TNG) for being a good leader, Hoshi Sato (STE) for being good at working out problems, Archer (STE) for being a good leader.
What are the most thought-provoking episodes in Star Trek?
Mostly, I like the episodes that are either inspiring, discuss an ethical issue, or are a good character study.
How has Star Trek influenced your life?
It had some influence in my becoming a scientist. It was good to see people working with people of all races and with advanced technology.
Why do you enjoy watching Star Trek?
The show was great for thinking through technical issues, like planning out where crew would live, work, and play, where Engineering worked, and how the ship and people would get from here to there, skipping over the tedious journeys to not drag down the drama. Star Trek Enterprise covered more personal issues, like working in space, considering what life is and how to communicate with beings from other planets, even the ones that don't look or act like humans.
The show was also great for casting today's problems in the guise of other civilizations and races, exploring possible solutions by stepping back and looking at it from different angles.
That tradition continued throughout the franchise, some years better than others. I'm currently watching Next Generation and Enterprise, which are (mostly) excellent.
Contrast the series with Star Wars, which, while fun to watch, leaves me empty at the end of each movie, because the writers seem to add superpowers arbitrarily to what is, essentially, a fairy tale about an evil wizard, a good wizard, a prince and a princess, and shallow plots. At the end of each movie, there's nothing really left to think about, puzzle over, or inspire.
The show was also great for casting today's problems in the guise of other civilizations and races, exploring possible solutions by stepping back and looking at it from different angles.
That tradition continued throughout the franchise, some years better than others. I'm currently watching Next Generation and Enterprise, which are (mostly) excellent.
Contrast the series with Star Wars, which, while fun to watch, leaves me empty at the end of each movie, because the writers seem to add superpowers arbitrarily to what is, essentially, a fairy tale about an evil wizard, a good wizard, a prince and a princess, and shallow plots. At the end of each movie, there's nothing really left to think about, puzzle over, or inspire.
Chris Kuszmaul
Palo Alto High School Computer Science
How did you become interested in Star Trek?
I started watching Star Trek when I came home from school in the early 1970s --- I may have seen original airings as well in the late 60s but I do not remember that (I would have been 5 years old or so)
Which Star Trek TV series and movies have you watched?
I have viewed at least several of every series --- all of the original series many times, almost all of TNG, DSN, more than half of Voyager and about half of Enterprise. One or two of the animated series...
Do you think that the original Star Trek episodes are old-fashioned?
I think every series and every movie reflects a lot about the times in which they were made. I am actually the most uncomfortable with the first Star Trek movie --- trying to come across as enlightened but really more provincial than the original series, not to mention the later productions.
Who are the most inspiring characters in Star Trek?
I find Spock to be the most inspiring character --- his struggle to manage his humanity mirrors the struggle every person who aspires to rational thinking, and who despairs of their own emotional fragility.
What are the most thought-provoking episodes in Star Trek?
The trouble with tribbles ended with a projection by Spock that it would take Mudd 17.1 (?) years to clean up the tribble mess. I ended up working out geometric series and all kinds of math stuff to check that number. I never did figure out how Spock came up with that number.
How has Star Trek influenced your life?
Star Trek gives me a wonderful bond with some of my favorite people.
Why do you enjoy watching Star Trek?
I enjoy Star Trek for many of the reasons anyone enjoys a soap opera, but the scientific ideas associated with Star Trek stimulate fun speculations --- how would my friendships be different if I had a transporter device, time travel, warp drive, or instant ability to talk to any friend --- oh wait that last one is here now.
Mary Emerson
IBM Retiree
How did you become interested in Star Trek?
One of my high school friends was an enthusiastic fan, and talked endlessly about the show. This was in the 1960s, probably some time in 1966, when the original series was in its first season. Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch it much, since my family had one TV and my parents controlled it. Fortunately they got a TV for their bedroom and I was able to watch the show starting with the second season. I've been a science fiction fan since age nine, and a fan of the U.S. space program since around the same age, when the mercury program got started. So, loving Star Trek was, as Spock said, "the logical thing to do."
Who are the most inspiring characters in Star Trek?
Spock and Data. I was fascinated with them! In fact, I think they influenced my career choice as a computer programmer and technical writer.
How has Star Trek influenced your life?
One episode that has definitely influenced me is Tin Man, one of the Next Generation (TNG) episodes. It's about a human telepath who ends up living inside a living starship that's wandered the galaxy for a very long time. This episode didn't attract me until a couple years ago when it was discussed on the Mission Log podcast. I love it because, as someone with disabilities, I had trouble figuring out where I fit in, especially in high school and college, and even during my career. The episode says, among other things, that there's a place where we belong, in the universe and in the world.
Nancy L. Mangini
Science Fiction Author
How has Star Trek influenced your life?
As a freshman in college when the original series aired on TV, I was a woman pursuing a man's career in science and medicine. When I saw Nichelle Nichols embody that same goal, I was encouraged to keep overcoming the obstacles the times and attitudes were putting in my way. After graduating with a BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences, I continued to follow the characters in the then-cancelled series through fan fiction and was inspired to write my own Trek story. Being naive and on the West Coast where almost no publishing took place in the '70's, the unsolicited manuscript I submitted to Bantam in New York was of course rejected, and then stolen by a "gypsy" publishing company who resold it under the title "Uhura's Song." Although copyrighted, I did not have the resources to pursue reclaiming my authorship rights and soon came to realize that an author gets paid by the book if she has a good agent and a better lawyer, while a writer gets paid by the hour. So I became a technical writer and had a good career in the Silicon Valley for nearly 40 years writing about many of the technological advances inspired by Star Trek scripts - old and recent.
Always a space enthusiast, I finished my career as a technical writer at NASA Ames documenting the software used to manage flights of the Space Shuttles, and retiring 2014.
Now, with both the time and resources needed to return to science fiction writing, I have recently competed the first novel in a planned trilogy that takes place locally - both at NASA Ames and at various locations in the Silicon Valley.
So I believe you could say that Star Trek started me on the path that has led to a full and wondrous life of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations right here at home.
Always a space enthusiast, I finished my career as a technical writer at NASA Ames documenting the software used to manage flights of the Space Shuttles, and retiring 2014.
Now, with both the time and resources needed to return to science fiction writing, I have recently competed the first novel in a planned trilogy that takes place locally - both at NASA Ames and at various locations in the Silicon Valley.
So I believe you could say that Star Trek started me on the path that has led to a full and wondrous life of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations right here at home.