Column 210 finally caught up with me. For some time I've anticipated the halfway point of Dr.TOS but like a poor Orion, "I seem to have ... miscalculated." After a quick tally I think the hump actually passed last week while I prattled about humanity's fifth year into our real "star trek." No matter.
I fondly recall the spur to this effort from a then growing, now defunct, promotional site for the new series: TrekEnterprise.com. The webmistress Kara (you still there?) asked for contributors and I was so pumped regarding the promising new show it made me eager to jump in. With a tendency to go wordy (still working on it!) I employed a discipline to my word count: I picked a convenient number with pleasant connotation to define both the overall number of columns and total words per issue.
Back when the column started I had little doubt that "Enterprise" would go the distance of a full seven seasons. (I look back now on my optimism and cringe.) That meant at least seven seasons' worth of reviews, about two hundred columns counting recaps and films. I figured the rest would be filled as I saw fit, keeping up with space news and researching other material. I could regularly post my thoughts on Trek and the world it shares. Before the rise of the "weblog" I planned to make a weekly, useful, yet informative "treklog." (I'd try to make it entertaining as well, but there's only so much I can do!)
Well then a few bad things happened. It's safe to say the world took notice of the steady stupidity necessary to stifle Star Trek. This column certainly did as I found myself (for better or worse) shorted several dozen topics! Then came my unexpected five-month interruption as a guest of the state last year, bookending my fourth season reviews and omitting plenty of good episodes in between. (Now that the DVD's are available I do hope to catch up soon, then I'll probably tackle TOS.)
It's been well worth the effort in terms both of exercise writing as well as staying alert to the news regarding space exploration. To my readers, thank you for your corrections and suggestions. I don't know how often this gets read by those in my own species or timeframe but thanks for sharing the trip. With or without a show on TV there'll always be something to talk about. It may not always be all the way interesting, but halfway? I'm happy with it.