Happy 26th Anniversary, Star Trek: The Next Generation!

On this day in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered with an episode called 'Encounter at Farpoint'... and my life was irrevocably changed in a way that no one could have expected.

I had seen and liked the Original Series about a year before but, I wasn't a hardcore fan yet. After all, I was only 4 years old when I saw my first episode, Amok Time. (Which is also one of the Original crew's best.) However, I heard there would be a new show so, my mother and I decided to watch since we loved the original show so much.

I don't remember what I thought during the first few minutes of the show with it's Captain's Log voice-over, the long shots of the new ship and Captain or the exchange with Q. However, I remember EXACTLY how I felt when I saw the scene where the new Enterprise performed a Saucer Separation at Warp 9.8 while trying to get away from Q...

Needless to say, I was blown away. Seeing that on a 25" Sony TV with Stereo Sound (which was quite impressive in 1987) through a 5 year-old's eyes was nothing short of amazing to me. 'The old ship could have NEVER done that!' I thought to myself. And from that point onward, I was the most Hardcore Trekkie that you ever met.

- Lord Publius