Thursday, September 8, 2016

Anime Corner Shout Out to Star Trek-Happy 50th Anniversary


Turns out today is a day to celebrate something special.  Apparently on this day, 50 years ago in 1966, Gene Roddenberry’s Wagon Train to the Stars commenced its long journey.  Starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Science Officer Mr. Spock, Star Trek went on to enjoy so-so success before an unfortunate cancellation in 1969.  However, thanks to devoted fans and syndication, Star Trek continued to live on and eventually produced 4 spin off TV series (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, with Star Trek Discovery set to air next year), along with 13 amazing movies (The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Kahn, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier, The Undiscovered Country, Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis, Star Trek, Into Darkness and Beyond).  50 years, countless episodes and stories later, Star Trek is still a staple in the lives of many people, myself included.

What’s kind of funny is that there’s a certain Anime property that has shared a similarly long life span and broadcast history.  Many have said the Star Trek and Mobile Suit Gundam have shared this in several ways.  Easy to see.  The original Mobile Suit Gundam series aired in 1979 and was cancelled before it’s intended ending (it was reworked to be given one though).  But through reruns, three compilation movies and the start of Gunpla (Gundam Plastic Models), Gundam continued to thrive well past it’s cancellation.  And then in 1985, the first Gundam sequel, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, debuted to critical praise and strong model kit sales.  While it wouldn’t be until the 90’s when Gundam began a consecutive series run (Victory Gundam-Gundam X) similar to Star Trek’s 1987-2003 run (Next Gen-Enterprise), the Gundam Franchise continued to produce numerous other series, movies, plastic models and other merchandise in the meantime, sustaining itself in the world of Anime long after the cancellation of the original series…just like Star Trek.

So I guess what I’m trying to write here with this special piece is this: Both Gundam and Star Trek have helped mold me into the nerd I am today.  Star Trek was my first real foray into the realm of science fiction and I often watched episodes of Next Gen and Deep Space with my entire family.  Gundam Wing was my first exposure to super deep character studies and dramatic storytelling not found in Dragon Ball Z or Pokemon.  I really cant imagine my life without one franchise or the other in my life.  To me, I’ll always be soaring the stars with a USS Enterprise outfitted with it’s own Mobile Suit launch bay.  I mean, come on.  How much cooler would the Dominion War have been if Mobile Suits were flying through spaceship debris, avoiding explosions and getting into some gritty Close Quarters Combat?  Their topics of focus may be different: Star Trek more on exploration and discovery while Gundam is about War and advancement, but I long for the day Gundam brings out a Star Trek series of it’s own, so it can marry the two franchises that have been such a huge impact on my life.

But if I hadn’t seen Star Trek, there’s a chance I might not have gotten into Gundam either…so it all comes full circle…sort of.

Ok mini ramble over, head back to your days and…Live Long and Prosper.
 

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