The Four S's, Part 1

Note: The four S's refer to what kinds of things I watch on TV.

Star Trek.

Star Trek is just plain cool. It fits my geeky nature, what with the fictitious science and all. When I was in 6th grade, I wrote a report for my science class about how warp drive works. I don't think I included the idea of a warp field, but it just goes to show how much I like Star Trek.

Lately I've been big on Enterprise, although I'm also a big fan of The Next Generation and Deep Space 9. I'm not too big a fan of Voyager, and I've seen far too little of The Original Series to make any judgements there. I just like the social ideas they introduce, the time travel, the engineering, the science, the space dogfights, and most importantly, Captain Picard.

Picard rocks. And... I say this with a staunch record of heterosexuality: He's fabulous. He's a leader, and a darn good one. He's a statesmen, philosopher, historian, scientist, explorer, and leader. The leader part I don't really pay attention to, because I think the best example of leadership is the Lord. I'm not speaking of morals here, but men like Picard, Ben Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln represent the kind of man I want to be. You'll notice I have no problem putting Picard among the ranks of honorable men, but I don't see a difference between a fictitious character and my perspective of what men may have been like according to history. Rumor has it, for example, that Franklin was quite taken by women. It's not his purported promiscuity that I wish to emulate, obviously. It's the representation of what men can be when they apply themselves.

Spiritually it's a different story. I can't say I want to be like Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinckley or any other religious figure in the same way I want to be like Picard because some of my goals are only religious in the fact that the Lord wishes us to better ourselves however we can. I see a distinction between approaching perfection and obtaining knowledge, though I acknowledge the consanguinity. (Reader's Digest word, very cool.) The spiritual men who influence my life have a far greater pull on me. This is a subject for another post.

Anyway, back to TV. Most shows are just plain terrible. The teleplays are too corny. The plot lines are FAR too dramatic. Many shows are too comparable to soap operas for my comfort. They are way, way, WAY too sexual for my taste. Regrettably, I've become a bit callous to regular old immodesty and pre-marital relations, but I just won't deal with adulterous situations and teenage sexuality. I just won't do it. And don't even get me started on reality TV.

Wasn't this supposed to be about Star Trek?