The Story of Kilgore, Part 6: Live long and prosper, or may the Force be with you?
The Wrath of the Return of the Kilgore
I’m a pretty huge geek, in case you haven’t noticed yet. Started at a young age with Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, J.R.R. Tolkien, Piers Anthony, Robert A. Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Edgar Rice Burroughs, et al. Grew into a love of movies along the same lines. I think George Lucas was my first cinematic spirit animal in that regard, and Glen A. Larson was the television side of that (Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, etc.) Loved watching MacGyver with Grandpa Glenn, loved watching Richard Dean Anderson evolve into Colonel Jack O’Neill in Stargate SG-1 (so much smartassery. And explosions LOL).
I’m a member of Gen X. I was weaned on stuff like Star Wars, BSG, Saturday Morning Cartoons, people that morphed into cars and animals, robots voiced by Mel Blanc, and cars that talk like Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World. I knew Face before he joined the A-Team, back when he was still called Starbuck. I remember pulling a Leo DiCaprio meme when Han Solo turned into an archaeologist named after the dog. I also still hate snakes. I hate ‘em!
After a while, it became about escapism. It allowed me to relieve myself from an ever-increasingly difficult situation at home. So did music, and I’ll talk about that in a later entry. Suffice it to say, our media library is legendary.
Anyway. I saw bits and pieces of Star Trek through the years. Liked it, but didn’t really have a whole lot of access to it.
Until September 26, 1987. I was twelve. A geek even among the band geeks. Grandpa Glenn let me watch “Encounter at Farpoint”, the series premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was spellbound, even on a CRT TV. Soon thereafter, I saw a repeat of Star Trek: The Motion Picture on the same kind of TV.
Yes, I’m old. The closest thing we had to HD back in the day was the giant RGB front projection TV at the local Shakey’s Pizza. Yes, I’m old. Also, shaddup.
I loved it. The first time I saw ST:TMP, I was somewhere around five years old. Didn’t really remember it. Then I got to see it when I was a teenager. The Enterprise “Grand Tour” that Scotty gives Admiral Kirk in the beginning,
along with Jerry Goldsmith’s music, is pure cinematic poetry. The refit Enterprise was absolutely gorgeous. The special effects were done by Industrial Light and Magic, a company founded by legends to make Star Wars. As mentioned, the score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Directed by Robert Wise. I can’t even get into these people’s careers, they’re so amazing, so I’ve linked their names to their IMDB pages.
Here’s some highlights for JG:
Planet of the Apes
Chinatown
The Omen
The Great Train Robbery
Alien
Poltergeist
The Secret of NIMH
First Blood
Gremlins
Innerspace
Total Recall
Ok. Yes, I’m a film score nerd. I used to go down to the public library and check out film score tapes before I could buy them myself. You get the point. But, also, his main theme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture went on to become the main theme for Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I made an homage when my son was born:
Now, let’s talk about Robert Wise, the director. This is the same guy that directed West Side Story and The Sound of Music. These are iconic films in their own right. He also directed Run Silent, Run Deep (there’s a lot of that movie in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), along with The Andromeda Strain, which was based upon a novel by Michael Crichton of Jurassic Park fame (I have a bunch of his hardcovers still in a box somewhere)…
The junior graphic artist/animator/musician/audiophile in me was astounded.
Recently I got to see the Director’s Cut in 4K. So yummy.
Anyway. Star Trek struck a chord with me. It wasn’t some far off galaxy. It was us. Humanity. We had finally managed to move past our own bullshit and start learning about the universe around us. Sure, there would always be obstacles, but by adhering to things like Honor, Courage, and Commitment (the literal US Navy values [Gene Roddenberry was also a Squid]), humans could actually seek out new life, boldly, and it was frickin’ awesome.
Needless to say, even though I love (most of) the Star Wars galaxy, the one we’ll eventually live in (I hope) is a lot more interesting.
May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless your planet.
Kilgore
Part 1 of this ongoing autobiographical series from your friendly neighborhood Vice President/Art Director
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 4.5
Part 5
Mike, thanks for your keen insights on Star Trek. The Captain Kirk/Mr. Spock series will always be my favorite. No matter how beautifully cheesy the sets, there's a real love for our flea-bitten race of humans written into every story.
How blessed you are and so gifted!