Good Lord, I’m Older Than Star Trek

Gee thanks, Google! Now, I feel old. I have no idea how many times I've said certain parts of our popular culture have been around my entire life--Cher's career, the Ford Mustang, Star Trek. Well, I was wrong on that last one.

Today is the 46th anniversary of the series premiere of the iconic sci-fi TV series. That makes me, roughly, 8 months older than Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones, and the rest of them. Yes, I know that it isn't possible to remember anything that happened when I was 8 months old. But it really does put a time stamp on my rear end...figuratively, people, figuratively.

But, back to Google. I applaud these innovators for always coming up with cool ways to commemorate anniversaries, birthdays, landmark historical events. And when it's interactive, it's even better. I hope you are still able to "play" on Google's home page. Hopefully, they'll keep it up throughout the day.

Nonetheless, it does remind us how timeless the Star Trek franchise really is. This little bitty show that only lasted two seasons has, so far, spawned one movie series that featured six installments from 1979 through 1991; a syndicated spinoff--"Star Trek: the Next Generation"--that enjoyed a 7-year run from 1987 to 1994 plus its own movie franchise; and a second series of films, the first of which was released to good reviews in 2009 and made more than $257 million at the American box office. Plus, a 2013 sequel is on the way.

I guess if Harry Potter ran for 46 years, folks would always buy a ticket. But that's not going to happen, so we'll never know. So, it's safe to say that outside of, perhaps, the James Bond brand, Star Trek is the most successful franchise we may ever know.

Live long and prosper, indeed.