These are the Voyages of the Starship Enterprise

I love Star Trek.

I love the hokey plots, the over-dramatic music, the horrid special effects, the laughable acting, the silly costumes, the obviously-ripped-straight-from-a-Christmas-tree props, and the wonderful iconic characters.

I love McCoy's humanity and the high regard he holds for his culture and his people. I love how beligerant and in-your-face he gets when the emotional toll is ignored, when the weak are abused, when he has to protect someone, even when he can't.

I love Scotty's can do attitude. There is no problem in the universe that canna be solved with a wee dram o' scotch and utterly reversing the laws of physics.

I love Spock's verbal wit and mental aptitude and how, regardless of how much the good doctor needles him about it, Spock shows more courage, valor, hope, and strength than any other crewman aboard the Enterprise.

I love Jim Kirk. I love that he stands for a universal standard of justice. His "No I don't care what your local tribal customs, deities, laws, or plans say, there are some things that you simply DON'T do and we are going to stop you from doing them!" attitude.  I love that he will listen to his advisers but he does not shirk the mantle of command and he will even go against Starfleet if he believes he is in the right.

I love the friendship and courage and respect for life and acknowledgment of evil and the understanding of making and fixing a mistake that these men display show after show. I love that regardless of how bad it might get, Kirk and Spock and McCoy will save the day and we will have a funny haha moment at the end (usually at Spock's expense) and all will be well.

Most of all I love how imaginative this show is. There is no limit to where hard work and a little luck will get you. Technology may save the day sometimes but men's minds usually prevail. There are a thousand thousand different worlds and situations and places and peoples that are just waking to be seen and we can know them and they can know us. There are things we can build that will make our world a better place and things that will make it horrible. There is hope that we can boldly go where no man has gone before but what we find there will be the same truth we have inside us. That there are some things worth standing for and there are many things that must be fought against. That friends come in all shapes and sizes and colors and ear styles. That it is always good to end with a laugh.

I love Star Trek.

Oh, and how can you NOT resist Spock-with-a-beard?  I mean come on:

Adorable!