I’m really excited for Star Trek Into Darkness. I’ve been looking forward to J.J. Abrams’s next venture to where no one has gone before since the credits rolled on his last. The trailers, the returning cast and the mystery surrounding Benjamin Cumberbatch’s character all have me chomping at the bit. Luckily I don’t have to wait much longer as I have tickets to an early screening on Wednesday evening.
My excitement for Star Trek Into Darkness is tempered, though, by Star Trek’s absence from the small screen. I’ve said it a number of times: Star Trek is made for television. The universe that Gene Roddenberry created cannot be fully mined in a two hour movie every three years. Movies only scratch the surface of the Star Trek universe; a weekly television series is the only way to fully explore its depth.
Only having a Star Trek movie every three years instead of a television series is like only going to church for Christmas and Easter. Sure, it’s great to go to church on Christmas and Easter but, if that’s all we do, we’re missing out on so much more. I know we pull out all the stops at our church to make Easter and Christmas as special as possible. However, there’s nothing as special as gathering weekly with the church and worshiping the Head.
It’s also special and fun to see a Star Trek movie every few years. I loved Star Trek and I’m looking forward to Star Trek Into Darkness. J.J. Abrams and company have pulled out all the stops to make Star Trek a summer spectacular that can go toe-to-toe with any blockbuster. A huge tentpole movie, though, isn’t as special as gathering weekly with the crew of a Federation starship.
I didn’t fall in love with Star Trek because I watched Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country when I was 10. I fell in love with Star Trek because I started spending time with Captain Picard and his crew every week, someones five or six times a week. The excitement of a new movie is great but it can’t top consistent time spent, week in and week out, with a television series.
The same is true with God. We can fall in love with God through a singular experience like a Christmas or Easter worship service. However, if we want to get the most out of our lives with God, we need consistent time spent with him, week in and week out. We shouldn’t shame people who only visit church once or twice a year, but show them what they’re missing out on.
Star Trek and God are best on a weekly basis. We can get something out of them once in a while, but we get more the more time we spend with them.
So to get the most out of Star Trek Into Darkness I might have to see it three or four times in the theater.
Would you welcome Star Trek back into your life on a weekly basis?
“Would you welcome Star Trek back into your life on a weekly basis?”
Duh! 🙂
Another nice post. I do have a lurking fear, however, that this movie is going to be like going to church only at Christmas and Easter and getting stuck with a preacher who feels such a need to be “cool” and “relevant” that she or he forgets to talk about Jesus. Incredibly, they are out there… as well as the preachers who would rather berate or joke about “the C and E” crowd, to their face, than take advantage of this “gimme” opportunity for evangelism.
I’m excited for the movie, too, but JJ Abrams on “The Daily Show” got me worried last night. He says he’s come to appreciate what makes Trek Trek, but he talks a lot more about making a movie everyone can enjoy. I guess, to some extent, this is another analogy to church life – we want all to hear the good news, for the good news is for all; but when do we cross the line from “for all” to “making it something everyone can enjoy” by diluting the message too much?
I audibly cheered when Jon Stewart told Abrams at one point – pleasantly, but also obviously sincerely, “I’m sorry; I stopped listening after you said you didn’t like Star Trek.” 🙂
Unfortunately, at this point, I don’t think Star Trek can be anything more than an action-packed blockbuster. And just like we shouldn’t shame people for showing up to church twice a year, we shouldn’t be upset about what Star Trek is right now. I’m excited for what STID is (or at least what I think it’s going to be) and I don’t want to cross my arms and frown because its not what I think it should be. There are hundreds of episodes of Star Trek to whet my appetite for a new television series and a new movie every few years about which to get excited.
Well, believe me, I am trying not to be “that fan.” I roundly criticized a lot of “that fan”s back in ’09. Maybe I am just getting old and grumpy. Flibbedy floo.
You do have four more years’ worth of grumpiness. 😉
Not at the moment, too much to do in life! I have never sat down and tried to watch it from the beginning though.