Hello CineTV community. I am doing something a little different today as the CineTV weekly writing prompts features Throwback Thursday and Schools. It seems like an odd combination, but, what the hey. Bear with me and you’ll see why the two topics together works, at least for me.
When I was a kid, and I do mean really young, Star Trek was all the rage on TV, but, being quite young, it was on after my bed time. So, back during its original run, I knew about it, but didn’t get to see it. Surprisingly, some of my friends at school must have been allowed to stay up late enough to watch it as they knew all the characters. I knew none of them. One day, during a recess, one of my friends said “Hey, Let’s play Star Trek! I’m Kirk”, and the other kids would chime in claiming their favorite characters (I had none at this time), including the one girl in the group laying claim to Yeoman Rand. They looked at me and said “do you want to play?” I responded “Sure!”. “Okay,” said our new Captain Kirk, “You’re a Klingon! You’re our prisoner!” And I’m standing their going “What’s a Klingon!” (Little did I know that being a Klingon would be a life sentence as you can see from my profile picture). This was in 1967, during Star Trek’s first season.
Title Shot for Star Trek "Arena" - IMDB
As fate would have it, we moved into an apartment (I think that was the reason, but I could be misremembering that point as I was pretty young), which meant my being able to stay up late enough to finally watch my first episode of Star Trek. The episode was “Arena”. I remember it distinctly as Kirk was battling a lizard dude called a Gorn. Even though I still didn’t get to watch it again until the series went into syndication a couple of years later, it stuck. I was a fan. For life.
Can you guess who isn't beamin gback up? "Arena" - IMDB
“Arena” is a classic episode for many reasons. From the loss of Ensign Expendable in the opening scenes, to the epic battle between Kirk and the captain of the Gorn ship as arranged by the super-powerful race, The Metrons, tossing the two on a fairly barren planet (shot at Vasquez Rocks Park near Los Angeles, including a shot of Kirk on Kirk’s Rock, as it is known in fandom), where both combatants can find the resources needed to defeat the other.
Kirk fighting the Gorn captain - "Arena" - IMDB
Having the leaders duke it out to see who wins the war is a common theme in fiction. Most of us have served in the military would much rather send our top blowhard, I mean leader (whether he be President, King, dictator, or whoever the top dog is) has been a theme that has shown up in several stories and films over the years. Maybe that’s why “Arena” continues to stand out, so much so that a few years back there was a commericial for Star Trek: The Video Game where Shatner dukes it out with a Gorn, but from Shatner’s living room. Metron’s not included.
As I said at the beginning of this article, “Arena” was the real starting point for my Trek through Fandom all of these years. But back then, as a young kid, I had no idea that that one schoolyard game followed by watching that first episode would result in a lifelong pursuit of fun, attending many Science Fiction conventions and making a lot of lifelong friends that share a passion for not just Star Trek, but Science Fiction films and books. And the adventure continues…
Thanks for stopping by, and Live Long and Prosper (I can’t believe I just wrote that! Qapla’!)
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The school years, the series and movies of those times were determinant for the games and many of them are still deeply rooted in our minds and hearts in various ways and that shows in many ways, greetings it was a pleasure to read you.
Thank you, I appreciate your comments. Yeah, many good memories of shows. This one has had a life long impact on me, so I thought it was a good one to share.