Memories of a Trekkie

For about three years, I was a Trekkie. From the looks of my room, you'd think I still was: models of every Enterprise (1701 to 1701-E) and other ships dangle from my roof, my bookshelf is dominated by about 70 Trek-related books, and, most prominently, I own a large neon sign featuring the Enterprise-D firing phasers.

Why did I stop this three-year obsession? Series 5 of Star Trek, Enterprise, begun last year. It had a number of things wrong with it: firstly, it was set before Captain Kirk, and yet the sets were all futuristic and 2000's-ish. Second, it didn't have the name "Star Trek" in front of it.

Wary fans watched the first episode, most coming away disgusted. It got worse and worse as the show went on: poorly acted, weakly scripted trash, violating previously established Trek history.

Oh well, there will always be the memories. The Next Generation will always be my favourite series of Trek. I've watched nearly every episode, from the debut Encounter at Farpoint to the closing All Good Things, seven years later. I was a big fan, hiring out episodes one by one from my local video store, and getting my long-time friend/fellow trekkie Noah over to watch them.

This CD, a compilation of the music from three episodes (Yesterday's Enterprise, Unification and Hollow Pursuits) brings back the memories. Songs on this album have that certain Star Trek sound...it's a hard thing to put into words, but it's definitely there. Even if I hadn't previously seen these episodes, I would've recognized the Star Trek Sound. You can feel it in the air, that United Federation of Planets atmosphere.

The album opens and closes with the Next Generation Main Theme, one of the finest pieces of soundtrack ever composed. It was originally the theme to “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” but in 1987 returned as the theme to The Next Generation. God, I love this show.

Episode 1: Yesterday’s Enterprise

Duality/Enterprise C
Averted/Richard/Guinan/Back to Battle/Cmdr. Garrett
First Kiss/Not To Be/Empty Death/Reporting for Duty
Klingons/Skin of Teeth

The first episode Yesterday’s Enterprise was a landmark in TNG history, as are most of the episodes chosen to have a soundtrack CD. While out cruising the galaxy, the Enterprise runs across a temporal anomaly (a hole in time), through which the Enterprise-C emerges.

The weird thing is that the Enterprise-C was destroyed several decades earlier, in an attempt to rescue a Klingon cruiser from a Romulan attack. All ships involved in the incident were destroyed, and it was a major tragedy for all concerned – but it was also a crucial event in galaxy politics. The Klingons, mortal enemies of the Federation, were touched by this act of self-sacrifice for the lives of the enemy, so they offered an olive branch to the Federation. They soon allied, and they were at peace.

Of course, this all changed when the Enterprise-C came through the rift. Now, the timeline is warped forever, and the Klingons are still at war with the Federation. Picard is no longer in charge of a peaceful vessel of exploration, but an all-out warship. How will the timeline be restored?

Duality/Enterprise C is a rather dark, surreal portrait of the situation, using weird electronic bells to enforce the image. In Averted/Richard/Guinan/Back To Battle/Cmdr. Garrett, we are sent into battle with the Enterprise, coming out quite shaken. The sound goes romantic and melancholy in First Kiss/Not To Be/Empty Death/Reporting for Duty, as Tasha Yar realises the purposeless death she would undergo in the other timeline. Then, in Klingons/Skin of Teeth, we go back into battle with the Enterprise C and Tasha, dying a martyred death for the Federation.

Episode 2: Unification, Parts 1 and 2

In Case You Forgot
Sarek
Sarek Drifts Away
Another Captain/Food Fight
Victims of Holography
Sacrifice/Mind Meld

This was another landmark for TNG, as Mr. Spock himself actually made an appearance. Picard hears about an unauthorized visit to Romulus by Mr. Spock, and so is sent in on a cloaked vessel to investigate. As it turns out, Spock is secretly trying to re-united the Romulans with the Vulcans, who were, long ago, the same race.

I’m really unsure how to comment on the Unification scores: it’s nice background music for study, but when you’re just listening, it comes off quite dull.

Episode 3: Hollow Pursuits

This episode deals with Lieutenant Barclay, a particularly nervous, insecure, stuttering engineer who has a very tough time dealing with life as a Starfleet officer. So, he retires to the holodeck to escape from the troubles of reality. He becomes increasingly withdrawn and even skipped duty for an hour’s session in the ‘deck.

For those unfamiliar with the holodeck, it is a marvellous invention where you walk into a certain room, and are surrounded by holographic projections of a certain location and people. The projections are indistinguishable from reality, and you can be anywhere you want. The projections are not hollow, either: walking into a rock will actually stub your toe, and holographic bullets can kill. As you can see, the possibilities are endless: you can go for a walk in Yellowstone National Park, watch the sun set at Café Del Mar, see an original Shakespeare play at the Globe….anything, anyplace, anytime .

So Barclay is using the holodeck to escape reality, even pasting the faces of crewmates he knows onto characters in the holodeck that he can safely take out his frustrations (and other desires, wink wink) on.

I can emphasise with Barclay: while my life isn’t as troubled as his, I too am a stutterer, and know what a life-ruining pain it can be. Also, I use Epinions as my holodeck, when I need to socialise and get some unused creative impulses going.

Anyway, in the track Barclay Mitty, we’re shown the stresses and hassles of the lieutenant’s everyday life. Tissue Samples is a pretty boring composition, but it returns to life with Lady Gates/Swordplay, which takes place in Barclay’s hilarious program where he swordfights members of the crew in 17th Century get-up.

Madame Troi/Blissful is a nice, butterflyish composition. It’s about Barclay’s sexual fantasising of the ship’s counsellor, Deanna Troi. He created a program in which Troi seduces him, which Troi was later to discover in an extremely embarrassing incident.

In Warposity, the ship begins to hurtle out of control. Of course, only Barclay can save the day. He runs down to the Engine Room, does what has to be done, and returns to the bridge a hero.

In Plan 9, no longer in need of his childish fantasies, Barclay deletes all his holodeck programs, triumphing over his addiction. He, however, decides to keep program #9. (Prog. #9 became a famous in-joke within Star Trek fans)

The album closes with a reprise of the original theme, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation End Credits.

So, should you buy this soundtrack? It’s not for everybody, but if you’re a Trekkie, or just in need of some background music to study by, then by all means yes. I will review the rest of the Next Generation soundtrack series later, as they seem to be in a dangerous shortage of reviews.

- Dylan