About this time of year I should be eagerly dripping from the mouth in fervid anticipation of the premiere for the next season of fresh Trek. But wait! It turns out that we have to wait a few extra weeks into October. ("To amuse your captain, no?") I've come to realize that moving the show to the graveyard shift will actually give me some time to ruminate and regurgitate my reviews, once the season finally begins. One hopes the delay will contribute favorably to the caliber of the programming, but time will tell.

As this column has noted before, TOS bookends itself with stories of illusion and "things not as they seem." From the pilots it veered off hard science fiction towards crab creatures (soon big headed grandmother types) with the ability to inflict involuntary virtual reality, or a dreadful plethora of misapplied psychic powers (though to be fair, the barrier only amplified the esper ability assumed to be normally human). After three years and a three month absence it limped home to deliver a final anti-scientific tale of body-swapping, "Turnabout Intruder." Yet is that the core of good science fiction, to picture things not as they seem?

Certainly TOS isn't the best place to educate yourself. As a rule and not the exception what is usually presented is not factual but rather counterfactual. Khan didn't occupy one quarter of our world, neither did the Nomad probe launch two years ago. We could even make an argument that what that series portrays as people - dedicated, idealistic, professionals (most of them, at least) - aren't really an accurate description of how people are. Rather it's a suggestion of how they should be, like its world.

TOS was sanitized, no oil, no gears, barely any moving parts except for those three cool levers that Scotty moved to activate the transporter. (You know you're a Trekker if you ever wonder what those really did. Why did it need three, and why were those available to one operator on an enormous console? Why does NX-01 have such a small console, but still the three levers?) ENT began with a Temporal Cold Bath concept set to be abandoned early on, reports say. The characters were fresh and interested in exploring space. Three moth-eaten years later they got a grip on the "revenge" thing thankfully and, after a good reset, will start their exploration anew. But the crew, they will have changed, and so have we, the viewers. Pardon me if I don't slobber anymore.